Michael Schumacher is making a come back to F1. Am sure his returns will make F1 more interesting. The major question would he be as successful as when he lifted the championship titles for few years before his retirement in 2006? How is the newer generation newer drivers like the recently crown F1 champion - Jenson Button, the famous Lewis Hamilton etc seeing him being the new rival? How is the new team - Malaysia's Lotus F1 gonna fare?
The greatest driver in the history of Formula One is coming back to racing. Seven-time champion Michael Schumacher announced on Wednesday that he would drive for Mercedes which took over the Brawn GP team that won the team and individual driver titles in 2009. Schumacher will receive a reported $10 million to race in 2010 with the idea of making a three-year commitment.
"It's not a one-off thing," he said in a conference call. The deal reunites Schumacher with Ross Brawn who was the technical director for Schumacher during his seven championships with Benetton and Ferrari. Brawn bought-out the Honda F1 team in March 2009 for a token $2, rebranded it Brawn GP and then hit the jackpot when his team won an unexpected championship. Mercedes investment valued the team at a reported $150 million.
As for Schumi he is not going to approach his income of the early 2000s when he ruled the sport. At his peak in 2003 he was earning $80 million, half in salary and the rest from endorsements, licensing deals and championship bonuses. We estimate that he earned $700 million cumulatively during his career, bested only by Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. Schumi was the last athlete to rank ahead of Woods in our annual take on the highest-paid athletes (back in 2001). Could Schumacher smell an opening to once again be the top earner in sports with the Woods business empire taking on water? Unlikely, but with a solid 2010 season Schumacher could propel himself back into the top tier of sports earners with an income in the $30 million range from salary, bonuses, licensing and endorsements for 2011. Can Schumacher compete for a title in his return at age 41 against a bunch of drivers a decade younger? Weigh in below and let us know what you think.--Kurt Badenhausen
Via Forbes.com
Comments
Post a Comment