Budapest, Hungary - World motorsport supremo Jean Todt has said he recently visited Michael Schumacher and expressed hope the record Formula One world champion could at some stage appear in public again for the first time since his severe skiing accident seven years ago.
Todt told the Mail on Sunday paper at the Hungarian Grand Prix that he saw Schumacher last week.
"He is fighting. I hope the world will be able to see him again. That is what he and his family are working towards," Todt said.
Todt did not reveal any medical details, citing privacy reasons.
Schumacher, 51, has been kept out of the public eye since suffering severe head injuries in the December 2013 accident.
He is recovering in his house on the banks of Lake Geneva, and Todt - the Ferrari team principal when Schumacher won five of his seven world titles with the Scuderia - is one of very few friends who has access.
The FIA president said it wouldn't matter if Lewis Hamilton bettered Schumacher's Formula One records one by one. The Briton already has the most pole positions, is just six race wins away from Schumacher's leading 91, and one away from Schumacher's seven world titles.
Michael Schumacher and Jean Todt. File picture: EPA.
"I know it can happen that Lewis beats Michael's record as the most-titled driver in history. All the ingredients are there with Mercedes for him to do that. I honestly don't mind," Todt said.
"I remember in 2000 when I was on the podium in Suzuka with Michael after he won his first title with Ferrari and I said to him that our lives would never be the same again. We had achieved all we wanted. After an accident like the one Michael has had, does it matter whether Lewis has won more?"