Niki doubts Schumacher return; MOTORSPORT.FORMER world champion Niki Lauda Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (born February 22, 1949 in Vienna) is an Austrian aviator, entrepreneur, former Formula One (F1) racing driver and three-time F1 World Champion. Early years in racingBorn in Vienna to a wealthy family, he was born and raised a Roman Catholic. does not believe Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (pronounced / /, born January 3, 1969, in Hürth Hermülheim, Germany)[4] is a former Formula One driver, and seven-time world champion. will make a full-time return to Formula One with Mercedes next season. Speculation has linked retired seven-time champion Schumacher with a return to the sport he once dominated following the German manufacturer's takeover of reigning constructors' champions Brawn GP earlier this month. Mercedes' bosses in Stuttgart are thought to favour an all-German driver line-up for next season, following the departures of Rubens Barrichello Rubens Gonçalves Barrichello (born May 23 1972) is a Brazilian Formula One race driver of Italian descent. He currently drives for Honda. Barrichello previously drove for Ferrari from 2000 to 2005 as Michael Schumacher's teammate, enjoying considerable success. to Williams and world champion Jenson Button Jenson Alexander Lyons Button, often called Jense, (born 19 January, 1980) is an English Formula One racing driver. He currently competes for the Honda Racing F1 team. He won his first Grand Prix in Hungary, on August 6 2006 after 113 races. to McLaren. Nico Rosberg has been con-firmed as one of Mercedes' drivers for next season, and both Schumacher and fellow German Nick Heidfeld have been linked with the other seat. Schumacher, who retired at the end of 2006, almost returned to the sport last season as understudy to the injured Felipe Massa but was forced to abandon his comeback due to a neck injury, but Lauda does not expect to see the 40-year-old on the grid in 2010. Reflecting on the rumours, Lauda said: "I don't believe that there is one single grain of truth in them, at least from all the signals that I get. "There was a window of opportunity after Felipe's accident and had Michael been fit he would have taken up that chance to race for three or four races, get the adrenaline rush, and see where he stood in the pecking order. "But I cannot believe that he would be up for a full season." CAPTION(S): Link: Former champion Michael Schumacher. |
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