Schumacher Signs With Mercedes - The Return of The King

By now the news is everywhere: Michael Schumacher, the most successful driver in the history of Grand Prix racing announced his comeback today. Long rumored and now confirmed, the driver that holds all of the records will be driving for the Mercedes factory team for 2010 through 2012.

In many ways, this will be a homecoming for Schumacher. He will be re-teaming with Ross Brawn, the technical director that was there for Michael when he won all seven of his World Driver's Championships (a record). And he will be driving for Mercedes-Benz, for whom he drove sports cars from 1990 through 1991, coming in fifth at Le Mans in a Sauber-Mercedes C11.

It is also worth keeping in mind that the "new" factory Mercedes team is, essentially, last year's Brawn F1 team. A team that basically came out of nowhere, blitz the field and won both the driver's and constructor's championships their first time out. Added together, Ross Brawn, Mercedes-Benz and championship winning momentum, the bottom line looks very good for Michael Schumacher.

And the bottom line looks very good for race fans as well. For one thing, there is the overall makeup of the Mercedes team. It will be an "all-German" team. Or at least inasmuch as the cars will be silver, and the driving squad will be Schumacher and young German Nico Rosberg.

Going up against this Teutonic squad will be Mercedes former technical partners, McLaren (who are still running Merc engines). The Woking based squad will be running two British drivers: Reigning champion Jenson Button, and young English phenom, Lewis Hamilton.

And in the red corner, stands Ferrari. The most storied marque in the history of car racing will be running Brazilian Felipe Massa and two-time world champion, Spaniard Fernando Alonso. Giving the Italian squad a thoroughly Latin flavor, and their first Spanish driver since the tragic Alfonso de Portago in the 1950s (I believe).

Now if only Renault were to drop the yellow and white company colors and go with French racing blue, then we would really have something.

Photos from Flickr users schumachergirl1956, Dwonderwall and ph-stop.