Michael Schumacher has been sounded out about a sensational return to Formula One next season.
Return of the king: F1's most successful race driver Michael Schumacher could be about to come out of retirement with Mercedes The 40 year-old seven-time world champion was due to make a comeback for Ferrari as a substitute for the injured Felipe Massa last season before a neck injury forced him to stand down.
But following last week’s Mercedes takeover of Brawn GP and world champion Jenson Button’s shock switch to McLaren, the possibility of a German dream team with Nico Rosberg is emerging.
The associations line up beautifully. Schumacher won all his world titles under the guidance at Benetton and Ferrari of Ross Brawn, who will continue in the role of team principal at the newly-minted Mercedes team.
Schumacher’s connection with Mercedes goes back to his youth when he was part of the marque’s young driver programme. As co-owners at McLaren, Mercedes launched at least one serious attempt to persuade Schumacher to join them from Ferrari.
Head of Mercedes motorsport Norbert Haug failed on that occasion. The stars and moons are in better alignment now, though talks are understood to be at an early stage.
Six months ago while driving around the Ascari circuit in southern Spain as part of a sponsorship engagement, Schumacher insisted that he had no regrets about retirement. The time was right, he said, to devote himself to his young family and pursue other interests.
His retainer with Ferrari kept him in the F1 loop and he was a frequent visitor on the pit wall during races.
The picture shifts quickly in sport. Massa’s freak head injury during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix in July presented an unforeseen opportunity. When the chance to race again was dangled before him, Schumacher found that he could not say no.
Opportunity knocks a second time. The big money that he banked at Ferrari, upwards of £50 million a year including endorsements, is not available this time around. The downshift by Mercedes from McLaren to Brawn was premised on the need to reign in spending.
Schumacher would be coming back to F1 on a budget, offered the same deal turned down by Button. That would not worry him. The huge commercial appeal attached to the return of the seven times world champion would more than make up his money.
Button made his final visit to Brackley on Thursday to say farewell. His appearance provoked sadness and anger. There would have been no talk of Schumacher at Mercedes had Button said yes to their offer. He was rated highly by a management team who felt they had gone as far as they could go with their multi-million pound offer.
The timing of his unveiling as a McLaren driver cut across his visit, which was clumsy in the extreme. This was no way to end a fairytale. Button has been here before in a career punctuated by ham-fisted moves.
If anyone can apply balm to the wounds at Brackley it is Schumacher. Formula One went bonkers at the thought of a comeback in August. That was only a temporary affair.
This would be full-on for a year at least; Schumacher going up against McLaren’s back-to-back world champions Button and Lewis Hamilton, not to mention Alonso and Massa at Ferrari and his own Red Bull protégé Sebastien Vettel.
Interest in F1 in Britain is glowing red hot following Button’s world championship win and his subsequent move to McLaren. Beyond our shores neither Button nor Hamilton is the big sell that Schumacher is. His brand is global.
Schumacher would not be at the table were he not smitten with the comeback idea. His heart is beating again.
We thought Button’s rise from the Monaco dole queue to world champion in eight mad months was a story. How about Schumacher coming back to win an eighth world title in Button’s old motor? Wishful thinking? Not according to the tom tom drums.
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