Time Out by Simon_Doyle

Some people just don't know when to let go and when one last opportunity presents itself to give it another go the temptation proves too great to resist - even though sometimes we just wish they would - but what about when it Michael Schumacher? 

The news that seven-time F1 champ is to come out of retirement is no surprise, especially given his aborted attempt to turn out for Ferrari after Felipe Massa's head injury last year. Schumi will be 41 in the New Year, an age that would mean that no team would ordinarily have touched him, aside from the fact that it's bloody Michael Schumacher, a man who brings out admiration and dislike in equal measure.

So is it the shot at doing it one more time that's tempted him back or the reported £6.2m he will earn? That salary is mere chicken feed to a multi-millionaire like Schumacher, so you'd have to consider that it's the chance for one last crack at it that has tempted him back into it. The ego has landed.

So how old really is too old? I recall Linford getting his lunchbox to the line first at the pensionable sprinting age of 32 in Barcelona in 1992; George Foreman proved he was a far from lean mean killing machine, but still became world heavyweight champion at the age of 45 in 1994; Steve Redgrave got into the boat again without being shot and was 38 when he clinched his fifth gold in Sydney in 2000; and marathoner Constantina Dita was 38 when she defied time to win the women's marathon in Beijing in 2008. 

Of these examples, only Foreman's was a comeback after a prolonged absence from their sport, and Schumacher's got his work cut out. But somehow you just know Schumi's going to do it, do it well, and take out a few drivers along the way. Could he even dare think about number 8 or even another season? Don't bet against it. The only good thing for the current crop of British drivers, including current champ Jenson Button, is that there are no penalty shoot-outs in F1.