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.”
Schumacher said he was at ease with himself after making the decision. He has learned a lot about himself during his first three-year retirement and three-year comeback, and he valued the lessons.
“In the past six years I have learned a lot, also about me, and I am thankful for it: for example, that you can open yourself up without losing focus. That losing can be both more difficult and more instructive than winning; something I had lost out of sight sometimes in earlier years. That you have to appreciate being able to do what you love.
“I would like to thank Daimler, Mercedes-Benz and the Team for their trust. But I also would like to thank all my friends, partners and companions, who over many good years in motorsport supported me. But most of all I would like to thank my family for standing always by my side, giving me the freedom to live my convictions and sharing my joy.”
Lewis Hamilton will be replacing Schumacher at Mercedes-Benz; Schumacher’s teammate Nico Rosberg will stay on.
