For the second time in his career, seven-time World Driving Champion Michael Schumacher has announced his retirement from Formula One. This time will likely be final.
“I have decided to retire from Formula One at the end of the season, although I am still able to compete with the best drivers of the world,” Schumacher said on his official website. “This is something that makes me proud, and this is part of why I never regretted my comeback.
“I can be happy with my performance and the fact that I was continuously raising my game during the last three years. But then, at some point it is time to say good-bye.”
Schumacher made the announcement in Japan Thursday as teams prepared for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix. The 43-year-old driver, who first retired in 2006 and returned to the sport in 2010, has had nothing like the success he saw in his first-go-round. In three seasons the German driver has reached the podium only once, at Valencia in 2012.
This lack of success prompted his decision.
“During the past weeks and months I was not sure if I would still have the motivation and energy which is necessary to go on; and it is not my style to do anything which I am not 100% convinced about. With today’s decision I feel released from those doubts. In the end, it is not my ambition to just drive around but to fight for victories; and the pleasure of driving is nourished by competitiveness.
“I said at the end of 2009 that I want to be measured by my success. It is without doubt that we did not achieve our goal to develop a world championship-fighting car within those three years. But it is also clear that I can still be very happy about my overall achievements in Formula 1.”
