Michael Schumacher is set for his second retirement with the news that Lewis Hamilton is to take his seat at Mercedes.
By Declan Whooley
McLaren announced that Mexican driver Sergio Perez will fill the vacancy left by the British driver after an outstanding season that has seen the 22 year-old gain 3 podium positions in 14 races for Sauber, with Hamilton set to take Schumacher’s seat at Mercedes.
McLaren paid tribute to Hamilton for his service to the team and wished him well with his new team.
“It’s entirely appropriate that I should take this opportunity to pass on our thanks to Lewis,” team principle Martin Whitmarsh said in statement today. “He wrote a huge chapter of his life and career with us, and was, and always will be, a fine member of an exclusive club: the McLaren world champions’ club.”
For 43 year-old Schumacher it marks the end of a career that started in 1991. He retired at the end of the 2006 season only to be lured back for the 2010 campaign with Mercedes. He finished that season with 72 points but it represented his first year without a win, pole position, podium or fastest lap.
The seven-time world champion is only the second ever driver to compete in more than 300 races after his former team-mate Rubens Barrichello, while his victory tally currently stands at 91.
He even fancied himself as a bit of a footballer, check out the footage of Schumi at a charity match a few years back rattling the crossbar.
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