Schumacher 'communicating with wife by blinking'

Critically injured Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher is communicating with his wife only by blinking, former racing driver Philippe Streiff has said.

"With his wife Corinna, he communicates with his eyes. He's starting to show signs of consciousness," Streiff himself wheelchair-bound after suffering a crash in 1989 in Brazil was quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror Wednesday.

"This is of course not the same disease as locked-in syndrome but the result is the same: You cannot move, cannot talk, you cannot do anything, he is enclosed in his body, but communicates by blinking his eyes."

The seven-time champion is paralysed and in a wheelchair following his skiing accident that has made him seriously disabled and unable to move or speak.

Schumacher, 45, was transferred to Lausanne Hospital, Switzerland, in June and is now being cared for at his home here.