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As soon as Felipe Massa had that awful accident in Budapest last season the name of Michael Schumacher immediately hit the airwaves as a possible replacement.
The fact that he did not dismiss the idea gave a clear indication he fancied the chance of recapturing former glories with the 'prancing horse'.
It was not to be, however, as his fitness, specifically his neck, prevented him from signing up with Ferrari. It turns out, though, this was only a temporary delay as Schumacher is back and this time he is driving for Mercedes, the renamed Brawn GP team.
The fact that it is world champions Mercedes, and former boss Ross Brawn, is also important as it seems unlikely he would have made a commitment to a team where he would be spending most of the season at the back of the grid. The refusal of world champion Jenson Button to re-sign for Mercedes and instead leave for McLaren was also crucial in securing Schumacher's services.
Like any great sportsman, life after the adrenalin of competition can be difficult to maintain but Schumacher has been working as a consultant since leaving F1 and therefore has stayed within the fold to some extent. He also left, according to many in the paddock, prematurely.
Ferrari were getting impatient in 2006 after losing two world championships to Fernando Alonso and had signed up Kimi Raikkonen in the hope of winning the title again. This was a significant move as Schumacher no longer had a second string driver next to him which Irvine and Barrichello had filled before the Finn's arrival.
A seven-time world champion is not the kind of man who will accept he will now be sharing the limelight and the team's expertise and Schumacher decided it was time to walk.
A man who is prepared to run rivals off the road, Jacques Villeneuve and Damien Hill both suffered at his hands, and a man who is prepared to park his car at Monaco's Rasscasse to secure pole is not a man to play second fiddle - not to anyone.
Reaction to his return has generally been very positive and the reason for this is that F1 is not totally about winning the Championship as winning races is also an achievement.
Unlike the Tour de France which Lance Armstrong came out of retirement to compete in again, this is only about winning the whole race.
Should Schumacher win two or three races this will still be seen as a good performance. Eddie Irvine, the German's former teammate believes it is still possible that he will win races and if he is given a competitive car a 90 per cent Schumacher is still a better driver than the vast majority on the grid.
Of the current drivers it is Lewis Hamilton who is leading the cheerleaders as he has always indicated that his biggest regret was not being able to race against the 'great man' when he arrived in F1 one year after Schumacher's retirement in 2006. Button may not be quite as enthusiastic as Hamilton when Schumacher receives 10 times as many headlines as him and this is likely to irritate the current world champion. He will, though, have to learn to live with it as there is no question this is likely to happen.
Another driver who may not be so thrilled will be teammate Nico Rosberg who will now feel the full force of the Schumacher factor. The German's almost pathological desire for every detail of a car's performance to be exactly as he wants it is legendary and there is no reason to believe it will not be the same in the Mercedes team. Rosberg will have to fight his corner otherwise he will just be another driver who feels he is getting the leftovers of the team's expertise.
Whatever the result of the races, this will bring a new and exciting factor to the 2010 Grand Prix season and no one from Bernie Ecclestone to the broadcasters in each country will be complaining about this addition. Formula One is a living and breathing organism that requires every year to have something new to survive and this is certainly something new.
We will have a good indication of how successful this return is going to be in three months when the Bahrain Grand Prix gets the new season underway on March 14. It is a fantastic prospect and it will give a pedestal for Sakhir to show the world what a fantastic sporting venue it is.
