Speaking to the German Motorsport Magazine, Michael Schumacher described his accident at the British Grand Prix today for the first time.

Schumacher said he felt helpless, as the brakes were not responding properly. "The distance the brake pedal had to move was getting bigger and bigger," said Schumacher. "All I could do was to try to reduce speed as much as possible by locking the wheels before I went into the gravel trap.

"You think feverishly about what you can do to slow the car down. But everything goes so fast that there is little else you can do than fatalistically accept what happens to you next.

"The worst thing about the accident for me was that my leg was trapped in the wreckage of the monocoque. The doctors saw that straight away and didn't try to pull me out of the car. The treatment was optimal."

In another interview, with the Cologne Express newspaper, Schumacher addressed speculations that he might return to race sooner than expected, thanks to a specially designed car to aid him. He described the idea as "complete nonsense."

"Unfortunately, I don't have a turbocharger to make my bones heal more quickly," he said. "My primary goal is to make a full recovery - however long it takes. Then we'll see what happens next."