NEWS that Michael Schumacher (pictured) is fighting for his life following a skiing accident has shocked the sporting world.

The seven-time Formula One world champion remains in a critical condition after hitting his head on a rock while skiing with his son in the French Alps.

It is times like this when sport is put very much into perspective, paling almost into insignificance, when compared to the fragility of life.

It is also cruelly ironic that in more than a decade at the pinnacle of the high-octane F1 the 44-year-old sustained only a broken leg, at the British Grand Prix in 1999.

Schumacher has always lived his life on the edge, also suffering spine and neck injuries in a motorcyle crash in Spain in 2009, before recovering to return for a second stint in F1.

Now he faces his greatest battle.