[call911]

"Borrowed" post from Ferrarichat:

- Schumacher almost ended up paralyzed in his February motorcycle accident
- The skull base fracture is so severe, that it cannot withstand F1 G forces. Not now, and possibly never
- MS said he left Ferrari in 2006 on his own terms because he felt no more motivation to carry on
- The motorcycle accident also hampered one of the veins feeding the brain with blood. That damaged his reaction times, which are not as good anymore
- Superbikes are currently no more of interest to MS (glad to hear that)
- He left a little back door open, not totally excluding a comeback to F1 and the newspaper eagerly picked that up, but from the whole event it was pretty clear, that here was a man who realized that his last window of opportunity to come back has gone for good.



At a press conference held in Geneva on Wednesday, Michael Schumacher explained how neck pains will prevent him from taking over the recovering Felipe Massa's single-seater at the European Grand Prix, but hinted that he might still race for Ferrari this season if his physical condition allows it.

Flanked by his agent Willi Weber as well as his personal doctor Johannes Peil, the seven-time champion stated: "There's only one way to see if your body is able to cope with the forces generated by a Formula 1 car: try it out. I did some simulations and I used many test cars, but none of them was able to reproduce the stress and the forces you have to deal with on board of a single-seater. So we had to drive one to understand what was going on.

"My doctor had told me that we could do this test and then, after a short break, add some more stress to see how the situation developed. In the end we've done everything we could do, but it didn't go as we wanted."

Schumacher is still healing wounds sustained during a motorbike accident last February which left him with damaged upper vertebrae in addition to rib and head injuries. Otherwise, the odds are very strong the German would have temporarily resumed his F1 racing career in Valencia, and surely continued until the end of the season if Massa does not return to the cockpit this year.

"Obviously I'm very frustrated and disappointed about what has happened," Schumacher declared. "We were preparing in a very tough way and we've done everything possible, but from the start Ferrari and I have always said that I would have raced for Felipe if I had been ready. It's a pity that we didn't reach this goal.

"I'm not interested in getting back in Formula 1 as a full-time job, but I wanted to help Ferrari and my friends under these special circumstances," he pointed out.

"In the beginning I was more tending towards a 'no', but you all know (Ferrari Chairman) Montezemolo and how good he is in convincing people. He's a great friend of mine and we really agree on most things; so he managed to convince me. Furthermore my wife Corinna said that I should do what I think is the right thing to do."

However, the possibility of seeing Schumacher race later in the season was not ruled out during the press conference, with rumours regarding a comeback at the Italian Grand Prix in a month's time.

When prompted on the matter, the 40-year-old did not confirm his intentions - but he did repeat his strong desire to invest time with Ferrari.

"Speculations are part of the world of motorsport. Many people have their ideas as far as this topic is concerned," he said. "But the truth is that I am very unhappy that I can't do what I wanted to do, which is helping Ferrari in this difficult moment. This is what I can tell you right now and I have to live with it."

Although frustrated that his wounds are currently preventing his return to a Ferrari cockpit, Schumacher is relieved that Felipe Massa's head injuries are healing strong and well.

"I'm glad that he is recovering so well," Schumacher shared, before mentioning a very familiar situation: "He's extremely motivated, although he can't prepare in such an intense way as he wants because the doctors still don't allow it."