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Michael Schumacher returns! German legend roars back into F1 with a £7m Mercedes deal
By Jonathan McEvoy
Last updated at 11:37 PM on 22nd December 2009
Michael Schumacher has signed a £7million, one-year contract to race for Mercedes next season - in one of the most astonishing comebacks in sporting history.
Sources close to the seven-time Formula One world champion told Sportsmail late on Tuesday night that he signed the deal during a secret visit to Mercedes’ factory in Brackley, Northamptonshire, on Monday.
His return is expected to be announced later on Wednesday.
Schumacher: Ready to make a return that will grip the sporting world
‘It’s all signed and sealed,’ confirmed a friend of the Schumacher family. ‘It’s for one season, but there might be options for a longer stay if both sides want it.’
Michael Schumacher
Legend: Schumacher celebrated an amazing seventh world title success in 2006
Schumacher, 40, will team up with his German compatriot Nico Rosberg three years after retiring from grand prix racing.
Although Schumacher has repeatedly said that he enjoys life outside Formula One, he has privately hankered for a return.
He had hoped to fill in for Felipe Massa, who was severely hurt in qualifying for this year’s Hungarian Grand Prix, but that comeback was aborted due to a neck injury suffered in a fall from a motorbike.
Now Schumacher’s neck has apparently come through a series of tests, although it was uncertain last night if his comeback is conditional on a final scan. In fact, Schumacher has been in training ever since Massa’s injury.
He is already down to his racing weight and is intent on adding to his record 91 victories.
‘He has been in the gym every day,’ said Schumacher’s friend. ‘He is in top condition and will be more than ready.’
The season starts in Bahrain in March, when Schumacher will line up against Lewis Hamilton at McLaren and Fernando Alonso in his old Ferrari seat. It is a mouth-watering prospect - the three outstanding drivers of the last decade contesting the first world championship race of the new decade.
It will be Hamilton’s first race against Schumacher, the most decorated driver in history. He made his debut one race after Schumacher’s ‘retirement’ at the Brazilian Grand Prix of 2006.
Several figures at Mercedes, who bought out Brawn last month, were eager to employ
Schumacher rather than re-sign Britain’s world champion Jenson Button.
Schumacher was keen from the start, even though his pragmatic former Benetton and Ferrari boss Ross Brawn initially wanted a younger driver.
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