Schumacher Returns To F1

Ferrari legend Michael Schumacher has stunned fans and pundits alike, announcing his return to the Formula One paddock in place of the injured Felipe Massa.

Can the seven time former champion still be a success or is he risking his reputation in a no-win situation?

It has been 3 years since Schumacher retired from Formula One, a further 2 years since winning his last world championship.

Now at 40 years old and with a potential neck injury he will be taking to the track in the F60, a car that he has never driven before, a car that is yet to consistently challenge for race-wins this season.

At first glance it seems that Schumacher's loyalty to Ferrari and to his protege, Massa, may lead to his widely accepted position as the greatest driver in F1 history being compromised.

Despite retiring at the end of the 2006 season Schumacher has remained directly involved with Formula One.

During the 2007 season he acted in an advisory capacity as assistant to Ferrari boss Jean Todt.

Towards the end of the 2007 season he even drove in a formal test session.

In the build-up towards the beginning of the 2008 season Schumacher helped test tyres and electronics at the Jerez circuit in Spain.

Throughout the 2008 season Schumacher continued to deal with the development of the Ferrari F1 cars whilst also taking part in the German national superbike championship.

It is safe to say that Schumacher will have a good idea of what re-entering F1 will demand of him and there is every chance he will make a success of his return, certainly in his own mind he must believe he can do well for the team he loves.

In the current season Ferrari have yet to challenge consistently for race wins and have not been able to match the pace of the Brawn GP and Red Bull teams.

Despite this it is quite possible that Schumacher will be able to get something more out of the F60 than either of the other Ferrari drivers; Raikkonen or Massa.

Schumacher is a notoriously competitive character with a wealth of experience. If he is true to form it is likely that he will be able to bring more consistency than Massa and more determination to win than the laid-back Kimi Raikkonen.

Speaking of his competitive character Schumacher is also no stranger to controversy and remains the only driver to have been disqualified from a championship season; for a collision with Jacques Villeneuve in 1997.

Other memorable incidents include a collision with Damon Hill that decided the 1994 World Championship and also stopping at the Rascasse corner in qualifying at the Monaco GP in 2006 to frustrate Fernando Alonso.

With that in mind it is quite possible that Schumacher will be able to influence a race win or even who wins the World Championship despite not having a massively competitive car.

It may also give the other drivers something else to think about, especially his old rival Alonso, in a car that is well matched against the Ferrari in terms of race pace.

It will also be interesting to see how Schumacher adapts to the new technology currently in use, such as KERS.

In that respect however the return to slick tyres and the removal of many of the aerodynamic enhancements that we have seen in the regulation changes for the current season may well play into Schumacher's experienced hands.

Ultimately only time will tell whether Schumacher's return is a wise decision or wishful thinking.

One thing is already certain however, that it can only help improve the popularity of what has become an obviously divided and much troubled sport.

For sure there will be a huge surge of interest in the next race at Valencia on 30th August.

As Niki Lauda said last week, it is there that Schumacher will find out just how competitive he still is.