Michael Schumacher's exasperated wife pleaded on Tuesday with journalists to leave her family and doctors alone, as her famous husband remains in a coma after a ski accident in the French Alps.

Scores of reporters, television crews and photographers have descended on the hospital in the French city of Grenoble where the Formula One legend is in stable but critical condition following his Dec 29 accident.

Last week, Schumacher's manager Sabine Kehm deplored tactics used by some journalists to try to catch a glimpse of the seven-time world champion in his room, reporting that one had even dressed up as a priest to try to get in.