Schumacher family asks for privacy before his 50th birthday

Schumacher hit the right side of his head on a rock, splitting open the helmet. Doctors worked to remove blood clots from his brain, but some were left because they were too deeply embedded. Schumacher's condition stabilized after he was placed in a drug-induced coma, from which he later emerged.

Updates on his health have been scarce since he left hospital in September 2014 to be cared for privately at his Swiss home on the shores of Lake Geneva.

"Michael can be proud of what he has achieved, and so are we!" the family said in the statement Wednesday.

"That's why we remember his successes with the Michael Schumacher Private Collection exhibition in Cologne, by publishing memories in social media and by continuing his charitable work through the Keep Fighting Foundation. We want to remember and celebrate his victories, his records and his jubilation."

AP