FORMER McLaren driver Jochen Mass has suffered a medical emergency.

As a result, Mass, 79, will be stepping back from public engagements while he recovers.

The type of emergency has been kept private by Mass’ close ones.

A statement posted on Mass’ social media pages read: “The family of Jochen Mass, wishes to share that he is currently recovering from a recent medical emergency.

“While Jochen’s condition is stable, he will be stepping back from all public appearances and engagements for the foreseeable future as he focuses on his recovery.

“We as a family are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support and kindly request privacy during this time.

“We are wishing Jochen a speedy recovery.”

Mass started 105 races in F1, winning the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix for McLaren and earning seven other podiums.

The German was a team-mate to several World Champions including Emerson Fittipaldi, James Hunt and Keke Rosberg during his career.

Team GB hero Sir Chris Hoy was among the first to send his well wishes, writing: “Get well soon Jochen.”

Hoy – who is suffering from terminal prostate cancer – is a passionate motorsport fan, particularly interested in endurance racing.

While racing driver Andre Lotterer wrote: “All the best. Be strong .”

After F1, Mass went onto enjoy incredible success in motorsports.

He won the gruelling 24 Hours of Le Mans for Sauber in 1989.

Mass was also credited for being a monitor to arguably the greatest F1 driver of all time Michael Schumacher while he was coming up.

He reportedly helped convince the seven-time world champion to join Ferarri rather than the then-dominant Williams.

In recent years, Mass has been a brand ambassador for Mercedes.

A Southwest Airlines flight bound for Los Cabos, Mexico, Thursday morning returned to a Texas airport after a reported engine issue.

Flight 3006, carrying 134 passengers, landed safely at William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, according to a statement from Southwest Airlines.

After the incident, the crew followed procedures and helped passengers evacuate the aircraft onto the tarmac, according to Southwest.

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Customers will be taken to their final destination of Cabo San Lucas in Los Cabos, Mexico, the airline said.

"We appreciate the professionalism of our flight crew in responding to this situation," Southwest said in the statement. "Nothing is more important to Southwest than the safety of our customers and employees."

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On Tuesday, a Frontier Airlines flight from Florida to Puerto Rico experienced an issue during landing at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in Puerto Rico.

Frontier Flight 5306, an Airbus A321, was landing with 228 passengers when it experienced a "mechanical problem" that resulted in one of the wheels on its landing gear breaking off, Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Dia reported.

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Flight investigator Luis Irizarry told Puerto Rico’s WAPA-TV it appeared a young co-pilot was flying the plane during the incident and a captain took over to land safely.

No injuries were immediately reported, Fox News Digital previously reported.

Frontier Airlines told Fox News Digital the flight from Orlando to San Juan "experienced a hard landing upon arrival."

"The aircraft landed safely, and there were no injuries to the passengers or crew," Frontier said. "The incident is under investigation."

Fox News Digital's Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.