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Schumacher’s dream return to F1 won’t happen
Italian team Ferrari have yet to hear from the driver, who remains contracted to them
As enjoyable a dream as it may have been to Formula 1 fans, the slim chances of Michael Schumacher returning to the motorsport appear to have been conclusively dashed. The Times reports today that Ferrari, to whom the 40-year-old German is still contracted, have had no notification from the driver that he may be considering a move to another team. Rumours in recent days have linked the seven-times world champion to a reunion with former team principal Ross Brawn at the newly rebranded Mercedes GP team.
Sources at Ferrari's Maranello base told the Times that Schumacher had not visited Stefano Domenicali, the Ferrari team principal, to inform him of any change in his status as a retired driver. While the Italian team would be unlikely to throw any obstacles into the path of the man who brought home five consecutive drivers' championships for them, it's thought that the driver himself has finally kiboshed the idea of a return to Formula 1.
While he may have been attracted to the romance last season of taking his place in the signature red of the Scuderia, following the injury to Felipe Massa at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the prospect of going back to the week-in, week-out humdrum of being a full-time driver is understandably less appealing. Fellow former world champion Niki Lauda expounded on this theory in an interview with the official Formula 1 website.
"There was a window of opportunity after Felipe’s accident and, had Michael been fit, he would have taken up that chance to race three or four times to prove himself, get the adrenalin rush, and see where he stood in the pecking order," Lauda said. "But I cannot believe that he would be up for a full season. Why, then, did he stop racing in the first place?"
The Austrian driver, who won two drivers' titles with Ferrari and one with McLaren, as well as serving as the Jaguar Formula 1 team's manager, also commented on Jenson Button's move from Mercedes/Brawn to his former team.
"That was a true 'Ron Dennis move' - to run a team with two British world champions. On the other hand, I am sure that Ross Brawn was not completely satisfied with Jenson's performance in the second half of the season," Lauda said. "But if Mercedes ends up with someone not as good as Jenson, then they've drawn the short straw. I would not have an idea who they should take." ·
