Michael Schumacher skiing accident in Meribel

Michael Schumacher has suffered a head injury while skiing in Meribel, France.

The seven-time Formula 1 world champion, who retired from F1 for a second time in 2012, was taken by helicopter to hospital in Moutiers before being moved to Grenoble.

Michael Schumacher, 44, is still undergoing tests in hospital where he is being comforted by his wife and three of his children.

Christophe Gernignon-Lecomte, director of the Meribel resort where Michael Schumacher suffered his injury, said: “He was a little shaken but conscious” after crashing.

Speaking to Radio Monte Carlo Sport, Gernignon-Lecomte added: “He was wearing a helmet and banged [his head] against a rock.”

Michael Schumacher was skiing with his 14-year-old son and others in an off-piste area between two marked runs above Meribel when he fell on Sunday morning.

He was attended to by two ski patrollers who requested helicopter evacuation to the nearby valley town of Moutiers, before he was subsequently moved to a bigger facility at Grenoble.

The German is receiving the attention of Professor Gerard Saillant, a close ally and friend of Schumacher and his former Ferrari team boss Jean Todt.

Prof. Gerard Saillant is an expert in brain and spine injury. He oversaw Michael Schumacher’s medical care when the German broke his leg in the 1999 British GP.

Michael Schumacher’s spokeswoman Sabine Kehm said in a statement: “We ask for understanding that we cannot give out continuous information about his health.

“He was wearing a helmet and was not alone. No one else was involved in the fall.”