There’s been a lot of talk recently about Michael Schumacher’s return to F1 and whether it was the right decision or not. Nikki Lauda even called for him to resign saying, “if he wants to be honest with himself”.
Recently, rumors started circulating in the Italian press that the seven-times world champion is seriously considering retiring, this time for good, after being beaten by his much younger team mate, Nico Rosberg.
However Schumacher himself dismissed all the hearsay with a simple statement at a Mercedes event: “I’ll certainly be racing next year, that is definite”. He even hinted at a possible extension of his contract: “We will have to see how things develop and how much energy and fun is still there”.
He repeated the same statement on Mercedes’ official site, claiming that he enjoys trying to turn the team around to a winning outfit: “Despite some funny rumors and stupid untruthful stories, I keep repeating that you will see me in 2012, whether you like it or not. I have a lot of support, particularly from the team. I’m still fit enough. I’m mentally ready for it. And I like a challenge.”
He admitted though that challenging top teams like Red Bull, McLaren or Ferrari for the title is not going to happen soon: “It would be presumptuous if one expects us to fight for the title next year. At the moment we are too far behind.”
Story source: ESPN
