It's been the will-he-won't-he rumour of the year and it's now finally confirmed that Michael Schumacher will don a Nomex suit again and race in Formula One. His return for the 2010 season will see the German race for Mercedes GP Petronas. The move sees him re-united with Ross Brawn; that being very significant as Brawn was instrumental in assisting Schumacher to his seven world titles at Benetton and Ferrari.

Schumacher will partner Nico Rosberg in the team that's formed from this year's championship winning Brawn GP. Something of a German dream team then, which Ross Brawn describes as the 'perfect mix of talent, experience, speed and youth.' Schumacher is reported to be earning around €7m from the one-year contract - that figure a fraction of what the drivers like Hamilton and Alonso command.

Schumacher's motivation is unlikely to be financially driven though. Banking plenty of money before he retired in 2006 Schumacher says he's ready to get back to the serious business of driving. The 2010 season looks like it could be an absolute cracker - if Mercedes GP can provide him with the car, as there'll be serious competition from a British championship pairing at McLaren, Alonso in a Ferrari and hot-shoe drivers like Vettel.

The season opens on the 14th March in Bahrain, Schumacher hoping to add to his tally of 91 grand prix wins - his determination to win unlikely to have diminished in his three-year sabbatical from F1 racing.