Michael Schumacher: Wife Corinna says former F1 champion is 'getting better'

The former F1 champion had remained in a hospital in Grenoble, France after suffering a head injury following a skiing accident in December

Corinna Schumacher, the wife of Michael Schumacher, has said that he is “getting better” after being woken from a medically induced coma and transferred to a rehabilitation clinic in Switzerland last month.

The former F1 champion had remained in a hospital in Grenoble, France after suffering a head injury following a skiing accident in December.

“It's getting better, slowly certainly, but in any case it's improving,” Corinna told German magazine Neue Post during her first public appearance in six months at a horse riding tournament in Switzerland.

German newspaper Bild pictured Corinna laughing, smiling and handing out chocolates at a Western-style event in Givrins, Switzerland over the weekend.

According to the publication, Schumacher’s manager Sabine Kehm accompanied Corinna to the ranch she purchased in 2004, as riders from several different nations turned up to take part.

“She was not so mighty that she couldn't push away a wheelbarrow with manure from the stables,” and attendee is quoted by The Mirror as saying.

“She had kind words for everyone there.”

Corinna, who has been married to Schumacher for 18 years, has been an ever-present figure of strength for fans in the wake of his head injury, often staying in hospital by his side for 10 hours a day as he fought for his life.

Since awaking from his medically induced coma on 16 June, he has been treated at a rehabilitation clinic near his family home in Lausanne.

He is currently paralysed and remains speechless, but medical experts are hoping that the driver is able to make enough progress to be able to sit in a wheelchair.

Bild has reported that Schumacher had started to respond to his wife’s voice.

“The voice of Corinna has a much stronger effect on him than the voices of other people,” the newspaper claimed.

Her comments come amid reports that Michael Schumacher’s medical records have been traced to a Swiss helicopter company in Zurich.

French authorities located the IP address of the computer used by thieves, who stole the documents last month, to the helicopter company that was due to transport Schumacher from Grenoble to Lausanne hospital after he emerged from his coma.

The thieves had attempted to sell the records to French, Swiss and German journalists, demanding 60,000 Swiss francs (€49,000 or £39,000) for the documents, which detailed Schumacher’s treatment.