Seven-time world champion Michael
Schumacher has confirmed he will
retire from Formula One at the end of
the season.
Schumacher has opted to quit the
sport at the age of 43 and his seat at
Mercedes will be filled by Lewis
Hamilton in 2013.
The German rewrote the F1 record
books, winning seven world titles and
91 races between 1991 and 2006
during his first spell in the sport.
Schumacher retired at the end of 2006
before being persuaded to make a
comeback with Mercedes in 2010 by
friend and driver Ross Brawn.
"I have decided to retire at the end of
the season," said Schumacher.
"I still feel I am capable of competing
against the best but the time
sometimes comes to say goodbye and
this time it might be forever.
"I had been thinking about whether I
had the necessary motivation to carry
on but I do not want to do something
I am not 100 per cent committed to.
Having made the decision I now feel a
release."
Boss Norbert Haug said: "I thank
Michael. We have known each other a
long time.
"We started together in Group C racing
and he went on to be the most
successful driver in Formula One,
winning more races and titles than any
other driver.
"We were competitors against him and
we had always dreamed of working
together and it came after Brawn
Mercedes won the World
Championship in 2009.
"We did not achieve what we wanted
to but Michael has laid some strong
foundations and I want to thank him
from the bottom of my heart."
Recent speculation linked Schumacher
to Sauber, for whom he raced sports
cars in the late 80s and early 90s, but
he has instead opted to call it a day.
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