Schumacher revels in 'great feeling'
Monday, 25 January 2010Michael Schumacher stepped back into the full glare of the Formula One spotlight today with Mercedes GP.
After announcing his return to the sport just before Christmas, the seven-time world champion joined team-mate Nico Rosberg, team boss Ross Brawn, chief executive officer Nick Fry and Mercedes motorsport head Norbert Haug in an official presentation of the team in Stuttgart.
The new car is poised for its debut on the opening day of the first test in Valencia next Monday, leaving Schumacher, Rosberg et al to stand alongside last season's double championship-winning model.
The obvious difference, however, was the white, yellow and black of the Brawn GP car that carried Jenson Button to the title, has now been replaced by Mercedes' traditional silver.
Manufacturing giant Mercedes completed a takeover of the Brackley-based team in November, with Brawn then luring Schumacher out of his three-year hiatus following Button's defection to McLaren.
Schumacher had planned to return with Ferrari for the European Grand Prix in Valencia last season, only for a neck injury sustained in a motorbike accident last February to scupper those plans.
But the enthusiasm he received on that occasion encouraged him to consider a full-time return.
Speaking at the Mercedes-Benz museum on his first public appearance for the team, Schumacher said: 'We saw it (the enthusiasm) in the summertime and I was hugely thrilled.'
With Schumacher's eagerly-anticipated return just 48 days away in Bahrain, the German added: 'Being part of this team is a great feeling, a great emotion.
'It's a great compliment to the fans because it gives me an extra push to be involved.'
Rosberg was announced as the first German to be signed for Mercedes since 1955, and he said: 'It's very special, a dream come true. It's fantastic, and I really look forward to it.
'Working with people like Ross, Nick, Norbert, and especially Michael, is something I'm very much looking forward to.'
