Schumacher showing 'responses', says friend

In this Nov 23, 2012 file photo, Grand Prix driver Michael Schumacher, of Germany, sits in his car during a free practice at the Interlagos race track in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Michael Schumacher's doctors have started the process of bringing the former Formula One champion out of the coma he has been in since a skiing accident a month ago, his manager said Thursday, Jan 30, 2014. The 45-year-old Schumacher suffered serious head injuries when he fell and hit the right side of his head on a rock in the French resort of Meribel on Dec 29.  [Photo/Agencies]

Berlin - Formula One legend Michael Schumacher, who is slowly being brought out from a coma following a ski accident, showed several responses during a recent visit, a friend was quoted as saying on Saturday.

"He is sleeping, he looks normal and he showed a few responses with his mouth," the German Bild daily quoted Schumacher's friend and former teammate Felipe Massa as saying.

"I was very happy to be able to spend some time with him," said Massa. "I spoke with him a lot, about how the team was doing, about the new car."

"I tried to give him the best possible energy," he said. "He is a very strong person and I really hope that he will again be able to enjoy life."

Brazil's Massa, who raced with Schumacher as a member of Ferrari team in 2006 and currently drives for Williams-Mercedes, did not say when he visited his friend.

Schumacher has been lying in a coma in a French hospital since the Dec 29 accident when he crashed into a rock so hard that the impact cracked his helmet. He had been skiing with his son and a group of friends.

After surgery to reduce bleeding and bruising he was placed in a medically induced coma and his body temperature lowered to reduce the risk of further damage.

Schumacher's family announced on January 30 that the drugs used to keep him in a coma were being reduced with a view to bringing him back to consciousness.