"I couldn't say no to Ferrari" - that is how Michael Schumacher, the driver to hold practically all the F1 records, said yes and will be back in Formula 1.
He is going to drive the F60 in Valencia on the 23rd of August and continue until the end of the championship. Seven races overall - to add to the 249 he has already done in his long career.
The sequence of events that led to "Schumi" return to the tracks started last Sunday when a part on Barrichello's car came unstuck and hit Felipe Massa causing him a life-threatening accident. Massa is now recovering and the hopes are that eventually he will manage to make a full recovery - but he cannot continue the current championship.
Michael Schumacher did not want to make a comeback - but he feels it is his duty to help the team that has offered him so much over his career. However, if he enjoys the comeback he might very well stay on for the 2010 championship - and the teams are ready to make some concessions in order to accommodate that.
Schumacher has three weeks to get ready for his comeback. His last race was in Brazil in 2006 but he has kept testing and helping with the development of the Ferrari, so he is no stranger to the track - although he not yet driven the current 2009 version. However, as Ferrari officials said "That may well be true - but it is also true that this is Michael Schumacher we are talking about!".
