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GERMAN ace Michael Schumacher, widely recognised as being the world's best ever racing driver, is raring to get back in the hot-seat at the scene of one of his most memorable victories ... Bahrain.
He won the first ever grand prix staged in the kingdom in 2004 and believes there is no better place to get back into the 'one-derful' world of F1 than at the home of motor racing in the Middle East.
He said: "To be honest I'm already super excited by the prospect to be back in a F1 cockpit.
"I think the duels on the race track will be electrifying. To put it simply: I'm totally fired up."
Bahrain will see the return of one of the icons of Formula One when Michael Schumacher takes to the grid for Mercedes GP.
He comes out of retirement after agreeing a new contract for the coming three seasons and does not plan to just make up the numbers.
He said: "Above all, my old hunger for racing is back. For me, the imagination to be back in a F1 car and to compete for the world championships is exciting and extremely inspiring."
Most racing pundits thought he would rejoin his beloved Ferrari after securing seven championship titles with the team and continuing to act as a consultant after retiring in 2006.
Schumacher, 40, admitted it was a tough call. "I didn't take this decision lightly at all, especially because of that," he said. "Ferrari and I have been working together for 14 years and I've experienced a lot of great moments with the team during this time.
"Most of my life as a Formula 1 driver is 'red' and so there is strong solidarity and loyalty to these guys who have accompanied me and have always built great cars for me. "This solidarity will remain, even though our teams will be competitors on the race track - because I'm certain that Ferrari will regain its former strength since the crew is really strong and committed."
Schumacher will be teaming up again with Ross Brawn who last year stormed to success after taking over the Honda mantle in the drivers' and construction championships before signing up this season as head of the German challenge.
"Mercedes GP will be a new challenge for me which is extremely attractive," said Schumacher. "I have no doubt at all that the team will be really strong. They showed by winning the two world championships that there is meshing a fascinating mixture of high professionalism and deepest passion.
"The relation between the competence of Mercedes and the current world champion team is extremely attractive and promises a good performance.
"Until recently, I was absolutely sure that I had ended my career as a race driver at Ferrari. But sometimes things change suddenly and unexpectedly. All of a sudden, the framework conditions aren't the same anymore. At that point, you have to reconsider the decisions you've made. And, to tell the truth, the failed comeback attempt last summer gave me reason to reconsider my situation.
"I was surprised myself how fast and how strong I committed myself to this topic again. Apparently, my batteries recharged completely during the last three years. And when - thanks to Ross - the opportunity arose to drive for Mercedes GP, I realised that my old motivation was back, full of fresh energy and great force.
"Physically, I feel absolutely fit. I already realised in summer how fast I achieved my former performance values by exercising specifically. And ever since, I kept on exercising. My neck is absolutely free of complaints. I can now do the same neck work-out as I did when I was still racing.
"This wasn't possible in summer because back then only five months had passed since my bike accident and so my neck wasn't cured completely. In the meantime this isn't a problem any more.
"I absolutely enjoyed my current life in those three years, doing a lot of things. There were no bored feelings or something like this, I was doing karting and biking without big hassle.
"I don't want to deny at all that the idea of a German F1 team extremely tempts me. I guess every German driver would feel this way. And, of course, it plays a major role that I again can work together with Ross at Mercedes GP."
Michael's last championship title in 2004 was secured before the season end, taking his total number of titles to seven.
Michael also holds the F1 records for most career wins (91), most wins in a season, most career pole positions, most points during a season (148 in 2004), most consecutive world championships (5), most consecutive race wins (2004) and most podium finishes (154).
The question is: can he still cut it against the likes of Button, Hamilton, Alonso and Massa? We will get a clue to the answer after the first race of the 2010 season in Bahrain on March 12-14.
