GERMAN MICHAEL SCHUMACHER has called off his proposed Formula 1 comeback after succumbing to a neck injury which inflamed while testing in Mugello.
Schumacher had hoped to overcome the problem, but following a medical examination, the seven-time World Champion was ruled out of a comeback at Valencia.
The 40-year-old will be replaced by Ferrari’s veteran test driver Luca Badoer, who has been employed by the Italian outfit for 10 years.
In a statement on his website, Schumacher revealed he is yet to fully recover from a neck fracture he suffered earlier in the year.
“The consequences of the injuries caused by the bike-accident in February, fractures in the area of head and neck, unfortunately have turned out to be still too severe. That is why my neck cannot stand the extreme stresses caused by Formula 1 yet,” he said
“This are the clear results of the examinations we did on the course of the past two weeks and the final examination yesterday afternoon. As there were no improvements after the day in Mugello, I decided at short notice on Sunday to do that thorough examination already yesterday.
“I really tried everything to make that temporary comeback possible, however, much to my regret it didn’t work out. Unfortunately we did not manage to get a grip on the pain in the neck which occurred after the private F1-day in Mugello, even if medically or therapeutically we tried everything possible.”
Schumacher’s replacement, Badoer hasn’t competed in a Formula 1 event since the 1999 Japanese Grand Prix, when he drove for Minardi, his 48th race start.
Despite racing at the elite level for three seasons, Badoer is yet to score a championship point, earning him a rather dubious honour as the driver with the most race starts to never score a point.
His best race finish was seventh at the 1993 San Marino Grand Prix.
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It was good on him to offer doing it - better that he was realistic and honest with himself to whether he actually could do it!
Yeah, true Autocritical.
I bet he was itching to get back into an F1 race car. (and actually race it, not just test etc)
Good on him for being realistic about his fitness.
Shame though, he was going to be a HUGE drawcard for the rounds where he would have raced!
That’s a big shame.
As much as I admire the guy and hoped he would come back for these races. I think it was all a publicity stunt. How could he not know he had a crook neck? He had been racing F1 long enough to know what was required in terms of neck strength to jump back into the car. Dissapointing. I still think he retired too early, probably had 1 or 2 more championships left in him.