Michael Schumacher Rejoins the GPDA

With the Grand Prix Drivers Association (GPDA) suffering a major reshuffle in recent weeks, another good news has emerged regarding the drivers' body. It seems Michael Schumacher, the 7-time world champion that returned to F1 action in 2010, has rejoined the aforementioned organization, whose main “field of activity” is to ensure the necessary safety standards for F1 drivers.

The announcement was made by his spokeswoman and new manager Sabine Kehm on Tuesday.

Prior to the Australian Grand Prix last month, it had surfaced in the media that the 41-year old German was not planning to rejoin the GPDA, as confirmed at the time by Kehm. The media started speculating that his unwillingness to become part of the group is due to Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa being in the presidential seat.

The conflict between the two goes back to the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix, when Schumacher parked his car on the track in the late stages of the qualifying session, therefore making it impossible for his rivals to set a faster time for the Sunday grid. Although the FIA punished the German for that, De la Rosa quit the GPDA in protest and only came back when Schumacher left the series, at the end of the year.

However, as of the Melbourne race, the GPDA has a brand new president, in the person of his very Mercedes GP teammate (reserve driver) Nick Heidfeld. Additionally, two new vice-presidents have been elected, Sebastian Vettel and Felipe Massa, replacing Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso respectively.

Schumacher will therefore not take a leading role in the organization, as “he really wants the others, who have taken over in the meantime, to continue,” said Kehm. Even before he retired, the German was not president of the GPDA, that position being headed by David Coulthard at the time.

With Schumacher's confirmation, it now becomes official that Force India Mercedes' Adrian Sutil is the only active F1 driver not part of the GPDA.