Return of the king

The current Formula One season has been stagnant and boring. We’ve seen many boardroom squabbles between Formula One Teams Association and Max Mosley (president of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile sports governing body) that nearly erupted into a breakaway motorsport league over the rules and regulations. But Wednesday July 29 will arguably go down in Formula One’s 2009 history as the day it got media coverage for the right reasons.

There has been a lot of criticism about the way it’s been run all season. The negotiations went from bad to worse when Felipe Massa, the Ferrari driver, was hit by a spring from Rubens Barrichello’s car in a Hungarian Grand Prix qualifier. But July 29 day will be hailed as the day the king made a dramatic return to Formula One. It’s the day the greatest driver to ever go into a Formula One car cockpit decided he was going to replace the injured Felipe Massa. Michael Schumacher’s comeback will surely put a spark in what has been a very dull Formula One season — it’s one of the biggest and brightest stories in a season blighted by politics and freak accidents.

When Lewis Hamilton started racing in Formula One in 2007, he said one thing he regretted was not racing against Schumacher, now he will get his chance to take a shot at the legend. A lot has changed since Schumacher retired on October 22 2006. The task has become even more difficult, drivers have reached a different level of competitiveness with the tiniest of errors costing a driver a place in the starting race. Some would say he is putting his reputation on the line, one he took years to build, but knowing the legend that is Schumacher, he has obviously thought long and hard about this and out of loyalty for the team he couldn’t ignore them when they came calling: “For team loyalty reasons I can’t ignore this unfortunate situation. As the competitor I am, I also very much look forward to facing this challenge.”

Many people have also been questioning his fitness but this is a man who takes utmost care of himself, always competitive no matter how small the competition. Many Formula One pundits are also saying this is the shock that Kimi Räikkönen, the other Ferrari driver, needed. He has been lying low since he won the 2007 Championship. The return of Schumacher is a splendid story for the sport, Hamilton will realise his dream and I bet the king will win a comeback race — Lance Armstrong did finish an impressive third at the Tour de France, four years after retirement.