Schumacher unable to walk or talk

Formula One legend Michael Schumacher is paralysed and in a wheelchair, according to former racing driver Philippe Streiff.

The seven-times champion cannot speak and has memory problems.

Streiff, who is himself wheelchair-bound since a crash in Brazil during pre-season tests in 1989 left him a quadriplegic, was speaking on French radio.

The Frenchman, a good friend of Schumacher, said: "He is getting better but everything is relative. It's very difficult. He can't speak. Like me, he is in a wheelchair, paralysed. He has memory problems and speech problems."

Schumacher, 45, is now being cared for at his home on the shores of Lake Geneva.

• Formula One driver Jules Bianchi has been brought out of an artificial coma and flown to France, nearly seven weeks after a Japanese Grand Prix crash that caused a brain injury.

"Jules is no longer in the artificial coma; however, he is still unconscious," said a family statement.

"He is breathing unaided and his vital signs are stable, but his condition is still classified as 'critical'."