Michael Schumacher

BMW-Sauber 2006 Brazil: Thanks Michael on the wing

Michael Schumacher (born January 3, 1969, in Hürth Hermülheim, near Cologne) is a German Formula One driver and the most successful Grand Prix motor racing driver of all time. He is also the first and only German to win the drivers' championship.

Schumacher is the most notable figure in the recent history of Formula One, as well as one of the most respected and well-paid figures in the world sport scene. He holds a great portion of all Formula One records, including most victories, most pole positions, most championship points and most famously, seven World Drivers' Championship Titles.

Early years
Schumacher began kart racing at the age of four and a half. He used a homemade kart built by his father, Rolf, who managed the local karting track in Kerpen, Schumacher's home town. He obtained his first license and began racing competitively by the age of twelve. Between 1984 and 1987, Schumacher won numerous German and European kart championships, including the Formula Konig Series. In 1988 Schumacher raced in the Formula Ford series and competed in the German Formula 3 series for the next two years, winning the title in 1990. In 1991, he continued his ascent up the racing ladder, joining the Mercedes junior racing programme in the World Endurance Championship, winning races in Mexico City and at Autopolis, at the wheel of a Sauber-Mercedes C291. He also briefly competed in the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship and the German Touring Car Championship in the early 1990s.

Formula One debut
Schumacher made his Formula One debut with the Jordan-Ford team at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix as a replacement driver for the imprisoned Bertrand Gachot (incarcerated for spraying CS gas in a London taxi-driver's face). Eddie Jordan signed Schumacher after he greatly impressed at a Silverstone test the previous week, and Schumacher assured Jordan that he had vast experience at the challenging Spa circuit, despite the fact that he had only been around the track once—and on a borrowed bicycle! Michael astonished everyone by qualifying seventh in his first competition in an F1 vehicle, out-qualifying his seasoned team mate, Andrea de Cesaris, an 11-year veteran. He retired on the first lap of the race with clutch problems.

Benetton years

1991-1993
After his astonishing debut, he was quickly signed by Benetton-Ford for the next race,and immediately showed great potential. This move angered Jordan who believed Benetton had 'stolen' his driver.

Schumacher became known as an up-and-coming driver in F1 as he claimed his maiden victory in the Belgian Grand Prix with Benetton Ford. In 1992 he finished third in the final standings.

1993 was a year of great expectations for Benetton and Schumacher. The German won one race at the Portuguese Grand Prix, but was not able to challenge for the World Title as the Benetton machine was not fully competitive with the technically advanced Williams. The year was once again dominated by Williams and only Senna, in a largely inferior McLaren, was able to challenge Alain Prost, who had at his disposal the strongest package in terms of engine, chassis and especially electronics. Nevertheless, this was a crucial year for developing the Benetton machine as electronic launch and traction controls were incorporated into their Engine Control Unit (ECU) mid way through the year.

1994
Schumacher won his first World Championship in 1994 while driving for Benetton, in an extremely controversial season marred by allegations of cheating and the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola.

Schumacher started the season strongly, winning six of the first seven races. The raw speed of the Benetton was a surprise to the other teams, who started allegations of cheating. They claimed Benetton had found a way to violate the FIA-imposed ban on electronic aids, including Traction Control, Launch Control and adaptive suspension. On investigation, the FIA discovered illegal software on their car, but could not prove that it had been used.

After Senna's death, Damon Hill inherited the responsibility of fighting for the championship. Hill struggled to keep pace with the Benetton in his Williams-Renault, but due to several mid-season controversial disqualifications and bans for Schumacher, he began to close the gap in the standings. In the British Grand Prix, Schumacher was disqualified from second place for overtaking on the formation lap [2]. He then ignored the black flag during the race, for which he was later given a two-race ban. Things took a turn for the worse at Spa, where Schumacher was disqualified after winning the race, after his car was found to have illegal wear on its skidblock.

Leading by a single point going into the final race in Australia, Schumacher clinched the title after colliding with Hill in a highly controversial incident, taking both drivers out (see below).

1995
In 1995, Schumacher stayed with Benetton, which had switched to Renault engines. He successfully defended his title, accumulating 33 more points than second-placed Damon Hill. With team-mate Johnny Herbert, he took Benetton to its first Constructors' Championship.

During these two championship seasons, Schumacher's dominance of Formula One was such that he won 17 out of the 31 races and finished on the podium 21 times. Only once did he qualify worse than fourth, which was at the 1995 Belgian Grand Prix, where he qualified 16th, but went on to win the race.

Ferrari years
In 1996, Michael signed a contract with Ferrari, which at the time was a highly risky move, given Ferrari's championship drought (the Italian giants had not won a title since 1979).

1996-1999
In his first year at the Scuderia, he wrung the best out of a very poor car and managed to finish third in the Drivers' Championship, behind only two Williams drivers. He won races in Spain, Belgium and Italy, the first one in the wet. The worst moment of his season was arguably France, in which he qualified on pole position but suffered an engine failure on the formation lap.

In 1997, he again took the title fight down to the last race, narrowly leading the points for the Drivers' Championship title. Schumacher uncompromisingly crashed into Jacques Villeneuve's Williams Renault after Villeneuve attempted to overtake Schumacher, when the German left the door open under braking into the right-hand 'Dry Sac' hairpin curve at the end of the back-straight of the Jerez circuit. Despite the fact that the Ferrari was literally thrown into the side of the Williams, it was the red car that ended up on the gravel and out of the race. Villeneuve's badly damaged Williams eventually finished third in the race, thereby winning the Drivers Championship title that year. In a controversial decision by the FIA, Schumacher was disqualified from the World Championship final classification that year, but his results and points were nevertheless kept in the official records.

In 1998, there were tyre rule changes in Formula 1 which seemed to favour tyre manufacturer Bridgestone over rival manufacturer Goodyear. Early into the season, it was evident that McLaren, who chose to compete with Bridgestone tyres that year, had the better car. It was then left to Schumacher to challenge the McLaren domination and the fight for the title continued well into the last race. Schumacher had won six races that year, the most memorable of which was in Hungary, where he pitted three times and had to do a whole stint lapping the circuit at qualifying speed, more than a second faster than anyone else to catch up with the McLaren. Despite the inferiority of the Ferrari, Schumacher pushed hard all the way until the final race in Japan where, after having secured the pole position, he subsequently stalled his Ferrari on the starting grid and had to restart from the back of the grid. He eventually regained lost ground in an amazing way, only to retire some laps later due to a punctured tyre, thereby yielding the title to Mika Häkkinen. Some fans argue that it was not only bad luck that prevented Schumacher from winning the 1998 Drivers' Championship, but also because of Häkkinen's teammate, David Coulthard, whose collision with Schumacher in Belgium, while a lap behind Michael, caused the German to retire and lose vital Championship points. This incident caused a great deal of controversy with Schumacher storming into the McLaren garage after retiring and allegedly accusing Coulthard of trying to kill him. This drew criticism, not least because Schumacher had been involved in several other controversial collisions in previous years.

After several rebuilding years, Schumacher's efforts helped Ferrari win the Constructors Title in 1999. However, his hopes for another Drivers' Championship were dashed at that year's British Grand Prix, where he broke his leg. A stucked throttle caused him to exit the track on the first lap of the race while facing the high-speed, right-hand 'Stowe' corner, and he crashed heavily into a tyre barrier. This accident prevented Schumacher from competing in the next six races. After his return, he assumed the role of a second driver, yielding to his teammate, Eddie Irvine, in order to help his team win a Drivers' Championship title. However, they were once again beaten by Mika Häkkinen in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

2000
After years of frustration and after having reunited the best engineers, aerodynamicists and strategists, Ferrari finally gave Michael Schumacher the opportunity to take yet another World Championship title, and Ferrari's first since Jody Scheckter in 1979, after a thrilling year-long battle with Mika Häkkinen.

Schumacher started the season in style, winning the first 3 races, and 5 of the first 8. Midway through the year, he experienced a run of bad luck, which some say was a result of his uncompromising driving style, refusing to give up positions on the opening lap of races. This allowed Hakkinen to overtake Schumacher in the championship standings, but a resounding win at the Italian Grand Prix brought him back on track.

The immense pressure of fighting for the world title showed, when at the post-race press conference at the end of the Italian Grand Prix, Schumacher broke into tears when asked about his feelings on equaling Ayrton Senna's record of 41 race wins.

The championship fight went down to the penultimate race in Japan. Starting from pole position, Schumacher lost his lead to Hakkinen early in the race, but a combination of strong mid-race pace and excellent Ferrari pit-work ensured that he came out ahead of Hakkinen after his second pit-stop and went on to win the race and the Championship.

2001
While en route to his fourth drivers' title, Schumacher broke 4 Time F1 World Champion Alain Prost's record for most Grand Prix wins. In a season which saw rival Mika Häkkinen performing at a lower level, Schumacher had no major threats, just some victories from David Coulthard, Häkkinen, and the Williams duo of his brother Ralf and Juan Pablo Montoya, with whom he had some in-track moments.

2002
In a dominant year, Schumacher easily took his fifth Drivers' title (equaling the record set by Juan Manuel Fangio) due to his driving talent and the sheer dominance of the Ferrari F2002, which won 15 out of 17 races that season. Schumacher also broke Nigel Mansell's and his own record of 9 race wins for most victories in a season, scoring 11 and finishing every race on the podium.

Again, just Williams' Ralf and McLaren Mercedes's Coulthard could take something from the all-conquering Ferrari. Montoya remained someone to battle with, finishing third behind the two Ferraris and clinching 7 pole positions with a special qualifying car, which was sometimes as fast as the Ferrari. This slowed Schumacher's race for another record he was close to reaching, the 65-pole record from Ayrton Senna.

2003
Schumacher broke Fangio's record by winning the Drivers' title for the sixth time in a closely contested season.

The biggest threats once again came from the McLaren Mercedes and BMW Williams F1 team. His brother Ralf became a regular race contender and scored some victories; more so Juan Pablo Montoya, who was a fierce competitor on track and often getting the best of him. In 2003 Montoya became a title contender even stronger than Kimi Räikkönen, as he had at his disposal the class of the field for some part of the world championship and scored a couple of victories, but Ferrari reacted from the Italian Grand Prix onwards and gained a slight car advantage allowing the German to win two more decisive races. After Montoya was penalized in the US GP he was out of the title contention; only the Finnish driver Kimi Räikkönen was left. Räikkönen, who had scored consistently in an inferior car, benefited from an indulgent system of points and had a mathematical chance until the final race, although he had just a single victory to his credit compared to Schumacher's six.

2004
 
Schumacher started off the championship with typical dominance, winning a record twelve of the first thirteen races of the season, only failing to finish in Monaco after a controversial accident with Juan Pablo Montoya under the safety car period. He clinched a record seventh drivers title where it had begun — at the Belgian Grand Prix. Scuderia Ferrari, and in particular Bridgestone, had been the key as the tyre was far and away superior to Michelin over the season. He would finish this season with a record 148 points, and a new record of 13 race wins in a season, surpassing the previous best of 11, which he had scored in the 2002 Formula One season.

2005
The 2005 season was a struggle for Schumacher, as the Ferrari package was far from ideal, especially in the use of its Bridgestone tires, which had been dominant in past years but were now of inferior quality. Ferrari and Bridgestone attributed this to the 2005 rule changes, which required tyres to last the distance of the whole race, a change some observers believe was targeted to end the domination of Ferrari and Schumacher.

Less than half-way through the season, the German admitted he didn't have the potential to defend his title. In an interview he said "It's hard to put up a fight when you don't have the same weapons".

Despite this, Schumacher had some moments, most notably his fight with Fernando Alonso in the San Marino GP and a pole in Hungary. Race data that Autosport Magazine.studied suggests that had Schumacher been closer to the front and had not had his accident with David Coulthard, he could have won the Monaco GP. He was faster than eventual race winner Kimi Raikkonen.

Ultimately and most importantly he finished third in the World Championship standings. But his victory in the United States Grand Prix gave him the 3rd place over McLaren driver Juan Pablo Montoya

There were many on-track problems for the German, including collisions with Takuma Sato (Belgian GP), Mark Webber (Turkish GP) and Christijan Albers (Chinese GP).

2006
Schumacher started 2006 well, narrowly edging out new Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa to take pole position at the first grand prix in Bahrain. Doing so, he equaled Ayrton Senna's record of 65 pole positions that had stood for 12 years after Senna's death. He went on to finish second, behind the Renault of reigning drivers' champion Fernando Alonso, making it his first podium finish in seven races, the last being a second place at the 2005 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Ferrari's engine troubles resulted in an engine change for Schumacher before qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix, demoting him to 14th on the starting grid. He finished the race in 6th, just behind team-mate Felipe Massa.

He qualified 11th in changing weather conditions at the Australian Grand Prix and retired from 6th place mid-way through the race after crashing into the wall at the final corner while chasing Jenson Button.

At the San Marino Grand Prix, Schumacher took his 66th pole position, breaking Senna's record of 65. He followed this up with a race win, holding off a challenge from Fernando Alonso despite struggling for pace in the middle stages of the race. Barring the farcical 2005 United States Grand Prix, this was his first win since the 2004 Japanese Grand Prix, 18 months earlier. With this win, Schumacher tied his own record with his 7th win at the same track, the other ones being Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal and Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in Magny-Cours.

Schumacher's strong form continued at the European Grand Prix, where he beat Fernando Alonso in a closely contested battle, putting in a series of blistering laps before his second pit-stop to emerge in front of Alonso.

The Spanish Grand Prix, was rather different for Schumacher, as he finished second, some 18 seconds behind eventual home race winner Fernando Alonso. Schumacher has commented that this is a "blip".

In the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix, although Schumacher took pole position with Fernando Alonso 0.064 seconds behind him, there was an uproar in the paddock after the end of qualifying. Alonso failed to set a faster laptime than Schumacher's best.

After interviewing Schumacher and Ferrari personnel, and reviewing evidence and data provided by the FIA and Ferrari, the race stewards stripped Schumacher of all of his qualifying times. The stewards said Schumacher's actions breached Article 112 of the FIA sporting regulations and that therefore their ruling was final and would not be subject to appeal. Ferrari's director Jean Todt strongly disputed the decision, claiming that "[w]ith no real evidence, the stewards have assumed he is guilty."

During the race itself, Schumacher battled back from the 22nd spot to finish 5th.

Formula One records
 
As of the 2006 British Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher holds the following F1 records:

2004:

Most championship titles: 7
Most consecutive championship titles: 5
Most race wins in a season: 13 (in 18 races)
Most consecutive race wins: 7 (European GP, Canadian GP, United States GP, French GP, British GP, German GP, Hungarian GP)
Most fastest laps in a season: 10 (in 18 races)
Most championship points in a season: 148 (out of a maximum of 180)
Most "clean-sweeps" (pole position, race win, and fastest lap): 20

2002:

Most podium finishes in a season: 17 (in 17 races)

Controversy
Since the 1994 death of Ayrton Senna, Schumacher has been widely regarded as the fastest driver in F1 and the dominant driver of his era. However, his career has at times been controversial, with some critics and fans questioning his sportsmanship and driving tactics and the apparent standing team orders which require his teammates to play a subservient role.

Schumacher's team was thought to be using illegal traction control to assist Schumacher when he raced with for Benetton. Benetton admitted that their car had the device but claimed it was not used during races. The FIA did nothing, compared to stripping Bar/Honda of points and suspending them for 2 races for having a fuel tank that could have been used to give an unfair adavantage (Bar/Honda also claimed that they did not use the fuel tank but were not given the special treatment of Schumacher).

Driving tactics
For those who question Schumacher's driving style, the two most noted incidents are the 1994 Australian Grand Prix crash with Damon Hill and the 1997 European Grand Prix crash with Jacques Villeneuve.

In the 1994 Australian Grand Prix Schumacher was leading Hill, but just barely; if Hill had won the race, he would have won that year's World Championship. With Hill applying heavy pressure late in the race, Schumacher made an error and ran wide off the track into a wall and damaged his car. Schumacher drove back onto the track and turned his ailing car into the side of Hill's as it passed - over the kerb and through the apex which could have been deemed as taking a short-cut - breaking Hill's front suspension rods forcing him out of the race and handing the title to Schumacher in controversial circumstances.

In qualifying for the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix after setting the fastest lap Schumacher drove round slowly on the racing line almost causing a collision with Gerhard Berger who was still on a fast lap. Berger had to spin his car to avoid a collision. Schumacher claimed afterwards that he belived that the session had finished. Berger was furious and referred the matter to the Stewards but they took no action.

During the 1997 European Grand Prix Schumacher was leading the race, followed by Villeneuve. Similar to the 1994 incident, a win for either driver would guarantee him the World Championship. Villeneuve attempted to overtake Schumacher approaching a right-handed corner; as the French Canadian passed, Schumacher's car turned sharply into the side of his car. It is an accident from which many viewpoints are still argued, but the FIA, Formula 1's ruling body, judged it to be dangerous driving. Schumacher's car was knocked out of the race, and Villeneuve went on to finish third, behind Mika Häkkinen (his first F1 win) and David Coulthard, who were too far behind in the points to challenge Villeneuve for the Championship. Schumacher was stripped of his second place in the final World Championship standings (with Heinz-Harald Frentzen moving from third to second), while retaining his results and points for the season.

In 1998 season, Schumacher created controversy by winning the British GP in pit lane. He was issued a 10s stop-and-go penalty for an illegal move during Safety Car laps. Knowing that a conventional in-stop-out penalty would lose him the race to championship contender Mika Hakkinen, he delayed going into the pit for the penalty the allowed number of laps and only served the penalty at the end of the race, thus avoided the slow out lap from the pit that would have caused him to lose the race. However, the FIA ruled this completely legal.

In qualifying for the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix Schumacher set the fastest lap time. He then took the Rascasse corner wide, narrowly avoided contacting the wall, before stalling his engine. The subsequent yellow flag prevented other runners from completing their qualifying runs. His main championship opponent, Fernando Alonso was on a qualifying run at the time, and looked set to post a faster time than Schumacher. Three times world champion Jackie Stewart accused Schumacher of leaving his car there on purpose to ensure his competitors could not better his lap time. As a result of an inquiry by stewards into the incident Schumacher was stripped of all times set in the qualifying session, forcing him to start from last on the grid. Schumacher and Ferrari maintain that the incident was accidental.

Team orders
 
During Schumacher's dominance in the first half of the 2000s, he accreted much controversy not only around him but his team Ferrari and race director Jean Todt, because of the way they were manipulating the race results by swapping finishing positions with Rubens Barrichello, the other Ferrari driver at the time. This had also affected Eddie Irvine during his time partnering Schumacher in Ferrari from 1996 until 1999, for example when Schumacher in the lead let Irvine pass to win the 1999 Malaysian GP and gain critical points, when Irvine was fighting for the Driver's world championship. Yet some think Ferrari team orders was a major factor in Irvine's move to Jaguar in 2000.

The most infamous episode of usage of 'team orders' by Ferrari was at the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix where the team ordered Barrichello, who was leading the race, to move over for Schumacher to take the win. The move, embarrassing for F1 fans and media, was done after the very last corner of the last lap of the Austrian Grand Prix. This led to a disgusted reception on the podium where an embarrassed Schumacher ushered Barrichello onto the top step. It also led to trouble for bookmakers and betting agencies. The result was a ban on team orders and a $1 million fine for Ferrari for disrupting the podium ceremony($500,000 to be paid immediately, with the remainder remitted subject to "good behaviour" during the next 12 months) [10]. Nevertheless, team orders are at times practiced by many teams and, despite bans by the FIA, can be executed discreetly.

It has also been argued that, unlike some of the great drivers of the past, Schumacher has not had much of a challenge from within the team. During much of his time at Benetton he was consistently dominant over his teammates; since moving to Ferrari, his team has guaranteed he is given a clear Number 1 status. Furthermore, his dominance over his teammates spans his entire 14-year career, including Brundle, Irvine, Barrichello, Verstappen, JJ Lehto and Herbert.

In more recent years, however, Schumacher's success with Ferrari, moderation of his on-track tactics, and a more relaxed public persona have rehabilitated his image for most fans, although the collisions with Hill and Villeneuve have not been forgotten by many Formula one fans, who are quick to point out poor sportsmanship.

Awards
Michael Schumacher has won the coveted Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award in 2002[11] and 2004[12], for his outstanding performance in the 2001 and 2003 seasons respectively. He joins a select group of sports personalities to win the award - golfer Tiger Woods, cyclist Lance Armstrong and tennis player Roger Federer. In its 7-year history, no other sportsman has been nominated more times than Schumacher, who also received nominations for the 2001, 2003 and 2005 awards.

Personal life
Schumacher married Corinna Betsch in August 1995. They have two children together, daughter Gina-Maria (b. 1997) and son Mick (b. 1999), and reside in Vufflens-le-Château, Switzerland, near Lake Geneva. Schumacher is very protective of his private life and takes every effort to keep his family out of the spotlight. Michael's younger brother Ralf, six years his junior, is also an F1 driver.

Michael's off-track interests include playing football (soccer) (actively in FC Aubonne), playing tennis, swimming, and skiing. He has received some nicknames along with his career, including the "Red Baron", "Schuey" and "Schumi". In 1997 he earned the nickname "The People's Champion" from F1 Racing Magazine due to his popularity in their end of season awards.

Charity
In 2005, Schumacher donated US$10 million to charity for the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake in a charity show on the German television network ZDF.[14] It was later announced that Schumacher's bodyguard, Burkhard Cramer, and Cramer's two sons, had died while on holiday in Phuket, Thailand. In fact, his donation surpassed that of any other sportsperson, most sports leagues, many worldwide corporations and even some countries.

Combining his hobby of football with charity, Schumacher has participated in several friendly games together with other Formula One drivers to raise money for charity.

Road safety awareness
In 1997, the FIA tasked Schumacher to promote road safety as part of his punishment conditions for the incident in Jerez. Although initially short term, he is still an active advocate of road safety, and an iconic supporter of the FIA's initiatives to promote road safety around the world. Along with Max Mosley, he was a keynote speaker at the launch and official signing of the European Road Safety Charter at Dublin on 6 April 2004.

He also participated in the global launch of the FIA's Think Before You Drive campaign at the 2005 Spanish Grand Prix along with then Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello.

Special ambassador to UNESCO
Schumacher is a special ambassador to UNESCO and has donated US$3 million to the organization. He has funded projects for the construction of a school in Senegal, a clinic in Sarajevo and a centre for street children in Peru. He has even taken the rare step of visiting Sarajevo to see how his funding has benefited child victims of war. For his contribution, he was named a UNESCO Champion For Sport by its Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura in 2002.

Salary
As of 2004, Schumacher earns an estimated US$80 million annually, including all his endorsement deals. One notable deal is with the German investment counseling company Deutsche Vermögensberatung, which will pay him US$8 million over three years for wearing a four-inch advertisement on his post-race hat.

Schumacher also owns a new Dassault Falcon Jet a Dassault 2000EX registration HB-JEG.

Film Cameos
In early March 2006, the Spanish press reported that Michael Schumacher will play a small role in the upcoming movie Asterix at the Olympic Games, together with Real Madrid stars David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane.

Michael Schumacher delivered a vocal performance in Disney-Pixar's animated feature film Cars that premiered on 26 May 2006 at the Lowe's Motor Speedway. He appeared alongside Oscar winner Paul Newman, Owen Wilson, Formula One world champion and Indy 500 winner Mario Andretti, NASCAR legend Darrell Waltrip and current NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.

COMEBACK 2010 - press release

Stuttgart/Brackley - The Mercedes GP PETRONAS Formula One Team can confirm today that seven-times Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher will make his racing return in 2010 with the Silver Arrows team.

With seven Drivers' World Championships, 248 Grand Prix starts, 91 victories, 154 podium finishes and 68 pole positions, the 40-year old German needs no introduction following an illustrious and record-breaking Formula One career from 1991 to 2006 at the Jordan, Benetton and Ferrari teams.

Michael's return to racing with MERCEDES GP PETRONAS sees his return to Mercedes-Benz Motorsport where he began his racing apprenticeship as part of the Junior Programme in 1990, racing in Group C sports cars and DTM, and sees Michael renew his partnership with Ross Brawn with whom he won all seven of his World Championships.

Today's announcement confirms the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS driver line-up for the 2010 season with Michael partnering his compatriot, 24 year old Nico Rosberg, in the Silver Arrows cars.

Michael Schumacher: ""MERCEDES GP PETRONAS represents a new challenge for me both in a sporting and a personal context. It is a new chapter in my racing career and I am really looking forward to working with my old friend Ross Brawn and my companions from my days with the Mercedes Junior Programme. I am convinced that together we will be involved in the fight for the Formula 1 World Championship next year and I am already looking forward to getting back onto the race track. For me, this partnership closes the circle. Mercedes supported me for so many years when I began my Formula 1 career and now I can hopefully give something back to the brand with the star."

Nico Rosberg: "It is fantastic that Michael is returning to Formula One and will be my team-mate at MERCEDES GP PETRONAS. It's a great challenge for me to be up against one of the best drivers of all time. I'm sure that we will form a very strong partnership as he will have lost none of his speed! It is also great news for our sport and the fans."

Stuttgart/Brackley - The Mercedes GP PETRONAS Formula One Team can confirm today that seven-times Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher will make his racing return in 2010 with the Silver Arrows team.

With seven Drivers' World Championships, 248 Grand Prix starts, 91 victories, 154 podium finishes and 68 pole positions, the 40-year old German needs no introduction following an illustrious and record-breaking Formula One career from 1991 to 2006 at the Jordan, Benetton and Ferrari teams.

Michael's return to racing with MERCEDES GP PETRONAS sees his return to Mercedes-Benz Motorsport where he began his racing apprenticeship as part of the Junior Programme in 1990, racing in Group C sports cars and DTM, and sees Michael renew his partnership with Ross Brawn with whom he won all seven of his World Championships.

Today's announcement confirms the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS driver line-up for the 2010 season with Michael partnering his compatriot, 24 year old Nico Rosberg, in the Silver Arrows cars.

Michael Schumacher: ""MERCEDES GP PETRONAS represents a new challenge for me both in a sporting and a personal context. It is a new chapter in my racing career and I am really looking forward to working with my old friend Ross Brawn and my companions from my days with the Mercedes Junior Programme. I am convinced that together we will be involved in the fight for the Formula 1 World Championship next year and I am already looking forward to getting back onto the race track. For me, this partnership closes the circle. Mercedes supported me for so many years when I began my Formula 1 career and now I can hopefully give something back to the brand with the star."

Nico Rosberg: "It is fantastic that Michael is returning to Formula One and will be my team-mate at MERCEDES GP PETRONAS. It's a great challenge for me to be up against one of the best drivers of all time. I'm sure that we will form a very strong partnership as he will have lost none of his speed! It is also great news for our sport and the fans."

Stuttgart/Brackley - The Mercedes GP PETRONAS Formula One Team can confirm today that seven-times Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher will make his racing return in 2010 with the Silver Arrows team.

With seven Drivers' World Championships, 248 Grand Prix starts, 91 victories, 154 podium finishes and 68 pole positions, the 40-year old German needs no introduction following an illustrious and record-breaking Formula One career from 1991 to 2006 at the Jordan, Benetton and Ferrari teams.

Michael's return to racing with MERCEDES GP PETRONAS sees his return to Mercedes-Benz Motorsport where he began his racing apprenticeship as part of the Junior Programme in 1990, racing in Group C sports cars and DTM, and sees Michael renew his partnership with Ross Brawn with whom he won all seven of his World Championships.

Today's announcement confirms the MERCEDES GP PETRONAS driver line-up for the 2010 season with Michael partnering his compatriot, 24 year old Nico Rosberg, in the Silver Arrows cars.

Michael Schumacher: ""MERCEDES GP PETRONAS represents a new challenge for me both in a sporting and a personal context. It is a new chapter in my racing career and I am really looking forward to working with my old friend Ross Brawn and my companions from my days with the Mercedes Junior Programme. I am convinced that together we will be involved in the fight for the Formula 1 World Championship next year and I am already looking forward to getting back onto the race track. For me, this partnership closes the circle. Mercedes supported me for so many years when I began my Formula 1 career and now I can hopefully give something back to the brand with the star."

Nico Rosberg: "It is fantastic that Michael is returning to Formula One and will be my team-mate at MERCEDES GP PETRONAS. It's a great challenge for me to be up against one of the best drivers of all time. I'm sure that we will form a very strong partnership as he will have lost none of his speed! It is also great news for our sport and the fans."

Ross Brawn, Team Principal of MERCEDES GP PETRONAS: "I am delighted that we can confirm today that Michael will make his much-anticipated return to Formula One next year and drive for our MERCEDES GP PETRONAS team. As seven-time World Champion, Michael's outstanding record in Formula One speaks for itself and I am looking forward to working with him again. With the completion of our driver line-up, I believe that we now have
the most exciting partnership in Formula One with Michael and Nico, who provide the perfect mix of talent, experience, speed and youth. We can now turn our full attention to the preparations for the new season and everyone at MERCEDES GP PETRONAS is extremely excited about the challenge ahead. With the investment and support in our team provided by Daimler, Aabar and our new title partner Petronas, and with two such
exciting drivers, we have all of the building blocks in place to have another successful season in 2010."

Norbert Haug, Vice-President of Mercedes-Benz Motorsports: "In April 1991, when I had been in charge of the Mercedes-Benz Motorsport programme for just six months, Michael was standing beside me on the balcony one evening. Without the slightest doubt, he said in a low voice: "It's about time that I got into Formula 1". Michael had just turned 22 years of age and four months later, he made his debut at Spa in a Jordan. Mercedes-Benz helped him to this point and the rest is history: seven World Championship titles, more than any racing driver, 91 Grand Prix wins, more than any racing driver. Michael has more of
everything than every other driver. As part of the Mercedes Junior Programme, Michael had raced in Group C sports cars and competed in a few DTM races. Ross Brawn, then our opponent at Jaguar, quickly realised Michael's talent and they went on to win all seven of his Drivers' World Championship titles together at Benetton and Ferrari. Our sporting
ambition has always been that Michael should drive again where his professional career had started and Michael knew that. We often joked about it after the races and discussed the prospect seriously several times during the last 14 years in Formula 1. It didn't happen in 1995, it didn't happen in 1998 and it didn't happen in 2005. I am delighted that it will now happen in 2010. I am very much looking forward to working with Michael and everybody at Mercedes-Benz and Daimler extends a very warm welcome to our 'apprentice' of 19 years ago. That apprentice is now the most successful racing driver of all time."

Schumacher press release and first pics