In the end, the German driver – who has recently signed a deal extension with Ferrari for the next few years – failed to make the grid for the European Grand Prix at Valencia, as his neck injuries didn't heal off in time. Schu fell off a Superbike machinery in February this year and sustained some serious neck injury at the time.
However, regardless of the fact that he hadn't prepared for an F1 test or drive in more than two years, Schumacher was convinced by Ferrari's CEO and his biggest fan Luca di Montezemolo to try his luck and return to F1 racing. And today, following his Nations Cup win in the Race of Champions, he explained what made him say yes.
“It wasn't really a rational decision, it was an emotional decision, which, at the time, I thought 'why not, it's part-time, it could be funny,” Schu told the Chinese reporters in Beijing.
In addition, he admitted that his close relationship with Felipe Massa was also a strong factor in making that decision, as he reckoned part of his retiring from the sport back in 2006 was to give the Brazilian the chance to stay at Maranello.
“Having the meeting with him (Luca Di Montezemolo) I looked at all the points, in particular that it was Felipe, who is like a brother to me. Part of the reason I retired was to hand over the car to him because he deserved to stay in a team with a top car. So taking the fact that it was him, having the accident, having to suffer, it was very easy to convince myself, so I finally said 'yes, I will try'” concluded the 40-year old.
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