F1 legend Michael Schumacher's nephew fractures spine in frightening fireball crash

The car race in the Hockenheim DTM competition was a chaotic affair with several vehicles crashing out of the race within the first couple of laps. The race witnessed red flag as early as in lap 6 following the collision between Thomas Preining and David Schumacher after the car of both drivers smashed into the barriers on the run to Turn 8 following contact. Despite the crash, both drivers escaped without any serious injuries.

Hockenheim DTM: David Schumacher suffers injury after a nasty crash

David Schumacher is the son of former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher and nephew of legendary F1 driver Michael Schumacher. According to a Motorports magazine report, David suffered a broken spine after being involved in the horrific crash. He was initially cleared by medical team after the collision, but later the scans revealed that he had a broken spine, as per a report  by New York Post. 

David's father Ralf, while revealing the details of his son's injury to the German news agency DPA, said, “When David came home, he was still complaining about back pain. It turned out that a lumbar vertebra was broken.” The news was later confirmed by the official Twitter handle of DTM. The youngster is expected to make a full recovery after about six weeks.

Recalling Michael Schumacher's severe brain injury back in 2013

David's uncle Michael Schumacher suffered a severe brain injury in December 2013 during a skiing accident in the French Alps. He was placed in a medically-induced coma until June 2014 and is now back home in Switzerland with his family. Back in July, the former F1 World champion honoured with the State Prize of North Rhine-Westphalia. 

Back in July, F1 executive Jean Todt while speaking to German broadcaster NTV had said that Michael's unfortunate condition has helped him get closer to the rest of the Schumacher family. "You have people around you who are just special. And in a way, Michael is also very special. Corinna, Mick and Gina have also become special to me. They have all become family to me, to my wife and to my son."

Michael Schumacher will undoubtedly go down as a legend of F1, having won a record seven world championship titles (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004). The German has also won the second-highest number of races (91) and has been on the podium on 155 different occasions. Moreover, he is the only driver to have won the F1 championship on five consecutive occasions from 2000 to 2004.