Schumacher tipped for F1 return at Mercedes
This week, Brawn GP unveiled Nico Rosberg as one half of their driver partnership for 2010. But the rumour mill has been going crazy over who will join Rosberg at the team, which looks set to run under the Mercedes name next season.
Initial reports were that Mercedes would sign former BMW Sauber driver Nick Heidfeld in an all-German line-up following the joint departures of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello.
But Heidfeld has been joined on the shortlist by Ferrari reject Kimi Raikkonen, who had initially announced he was taking a year's sabbatical from Formula 1 to rally, and more shockingly by another ex-Ferrari man, Michael Schumacher.
At first glance, the Schumacher rumours are farcical. The man is 40 years old, has nothing left to prove in the sport and has a fairly lucractive and cushy job with Ferrari. But on closer inspection, the deal could become a reality. His management have said "maybe" publicly, then comes the Ross Brawn factor, the one man outside Ferrari that could tempt Schumacher our of retirement. There's also the small matter of Mercedes, who as a company would get their dream of an all-German line-up and finally bag a driver they were closely linked to in his pre-F1 days.
A lot of boxes would still need to be ticked for Schumacher to return but, judging by his karting pace - he beat the majority of the current F1 driver line-up earlier this year - he would be more than a match for even the top drivers.
Could Schumacher realistically make a return to F1, sign for Mercedes and win races? Post your comments below...
