LONDON — Concern is growing that retired Formula 1 great Michael Schumacher may never wake up from his coma.

According to the Daily Mail, German newspaper Bild and weekly news magazine Focus have reported that Schumacher “could be in a coma forever” after consulting experts on his condition, with the silence on his condition in recent days thought to have sparked fears in his native-Germany that the worst may happen.

The record seven-time world champion has been in an induced coma in a Grenoble hospital since a skiing accident on Dec 29 in the French alpine resort of Meribel left him with life-threatening head injuries.

Schumacher, who turned 45 on Jan 3, has undergone two operations while his wife Corinna and two children have kept a constant vigil at his bedside. The last update from Schumacher’s agent Sabine Kehm and the medical team treating him is that his condition remains “critical but stable”.

But according to the Daily Mail, Andreas Zieger, a neurosurgeon at the University Clinic in Oldenburg, told Focus magazine it was premature to draw conclusions.

“We should not speculate here. Ultimately, we are talking about life and death. A coma can in theory be maintained for a lifetime. It won’t hurt the human brain,” he said. “Brain injuries are among the most complicated injuries that can happen to the human body. Predictions about how long a person might be in a coma or potential complications are seldom reliable.”

Gereon Fink, a neurological expert in Cologne, also said: “Depending on where bleeding has taken place (it) can lead to unilateral paralysis, speech disorders or personality changes.”

Meanwhile, Formula One Chief Executive Bernie Ecclestone is set to go on trial for bribery charges in Germany, possibly in late-April, the Associated Press reported.

The 83-year-old, who was indicted last May, faces charges of bribery and incitement to breach of trust connected with a US$45 million (S$57.3 million) payment to German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky.

Sentences in Germany for bribery range from three months to 10 years in prison. Gribkowsky was convicted in 2012 of taking the payment from Ecclestone in connection with the sale of a stake in F1 and sentenced to eight years in prison for corruption, tax evasion and breach of trust.

Ecclestone, who insisted he did “nothing illegal”, acknowledged during Gribkowsky’s trial that he was pressured into making the payment.

Gribkowsky was in charge of selling German bank BayernLB’s 47 percent stake in F1 to investment group CVC Capital Partners in 2006.

In addition to taking the money from Ecclestone, Gribkowsky used BayernLB’s funds to pay the F1 boss a commission of US$41.4 million and agreed to pay a further US$25 million to Bambino Trust, a company with which Ecclestone was affiliated.

In separate legal proceedings in London, German media company Constantin Medien — a former F1 shareholder — is suing Ecclestone and other defendants for up to US$144 million, claiming F1 was undervalued by the BayernLB deal. AGENCIES