Michael Schumacher, ex-F1 champion, out of coma

Formula One great MichaelSchumacheris no longer in a coma and has been moved from a hospitalin France where he had been receiving treatment since a skiing accident in December, to a Swiss hospital.

Schumacherleft the hospital in Grenoble "to continue his long phase of rehabilitation," his manager, SabineKehm, said in a statement.

• Schumacher faces long recovery from coma, survivors say

She did not say when he was released, where the seven-time F1 champion was taken or give any further details of his condition, and her office refused to elaborate on the statement.

Schumacher is now at the Lausanne University Hospital in neighbouring Switzerland, hospital spokesman Darcy Christen said, without elaborating.

Schumacher, his wife and their two children live in Switzerlandin a town between Lausanne and Geneva.

His accident happened on a family vacation as Schumacher was skiing with his 14-year-old son.

'Long-term side effects' likely, expert says

Schumacher's family "would like to explicitly thank all his treating doctors, nurses and therapists in Grenoble as well as the first aiders at the place of the accident, who did an excellent job in those first months," Kehm's statement said.

"For the future we ask for understanding that his further rehabilitation will take place away from the public eye," it added.

Doctors in Grenoble put him into a coma to rest his brain and decrease swelling, and they operated to remove blood clots, but some were too deeply embedded.

Little information has been released on Schumacher's condition over recent months.

Monday's statement was the first substantial update since Kehm said in early April that Schumacher "shows moments of consciousness and awakening."

"If he's been released from the hospital he was in, it means he's able to support his own breathing and bodily functions," said Dr. Tipu Aziz, a professor of neurosurgery at Oxford University's John Radcliffe Hospital.

The fact that Schumacher is going into rehabilitation "suggests there's been long-term side effects of his injury," he added.

"With rehabilitation, they'll try to train him to cope with the disabilities that he's got to achieve as much life function as possible," Aziz said. "If he's had a brain injury, he may have weakness in his limbs secondary to loss of brain function. He may have problems with speech and swallowing."

Schumacher earned universal acclaim for his uncommon and sometimes ruthless driving talent, which led to a record 91 race wins. He retired from F1 racing in 2012 after an unmatched seven world titles.

The Mercedes team, for which Schumacher raced in the last three years of his career, posted on Twitter: "Encouraging news on Michael's condition this morning. We couldn't ask for a better start to the week. #KeepFightingMichael."