Michael Schumacher's business manager, Willi Weber reckons his German star will be out of action for as long as three months. Weber spoke to the German media, saying: "The most important thing is for Michael to be fully fit and recover from his injuries properly. For those reasons, a pause of three months from racing sounds realistic. He will need that long a period for a full recovery."

This means Schumacher will miss as many as six races and will return for the closing two races of the season, held at Malaysia and Japan. "We don't want to take any risks and the doctors have advised him not to," Weber explained. "He doesn't want to come back too early and risk long-term sequels."

Weber also commented on speculation that Schumacher might decide to quit Formula One altogether, saying: "I wish I hadn't heard that. So few days after this accident, it's too early to talk about a comeback. We should only be concerned about his recovery. Then will come rehabilitation. The most important thing for Michael is his health. He's not thinking about motor racing at this stage."