Michael Schumacher Returns to F1 with Mercedes
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Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher is to come out of retirement to race for Mercedes GP next year, the Formula One team confirmed on December 23.
Schumacher, who had quit the sport in 2006, will make his debut with the new team on March 14 at the Bahrain Grand Prix, the opening race of the 2010 season. The announcement comes 11 days ahead of Schumacher's 41st birthday on January 3, making him easily the oldest driver in next year's championship.
The signing also came a day after Mercedes GP announced a long-term agreement with Malaysian national oil and gas company Petronas.
It is though the deal is for one year but Schumacher said he was planning for to race for three years. "I feel just like hopping around like a 12-year-old boy," he told a telephone conference.
Schumacher planned a comeback at Ferrari in the summer after Felipe Massa was sidelined following a crash, but doctors declared him unfit to race following a motorcycle accident earlier in the year.
The record world champion will partner fellow German Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes team which has taken over Brawn GP, winners of the 2009 drivers' title with Jenson Button as well as the constructors' championship.
Schumacher had been a consultant for Ferrari since retiring and said recently he would stay in the role for another three years. However the Italian team had given the all-clear for the move to Mercedes GP.
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