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Schumacher returns for F1 fight

After an anti-climatic championship and season of turmoil in 2009, Michael Schumacher’s return has set the stage for one of the most anticipated title fights in F1.

Schumacher’s comeback puts four champions on the grid, while at least four teams — including Schumacher’s Mercedes GP — are expected to challenge for the title after a season of surprises on the track that fell mostly flat despite Brawn GP’s underdog victory.

Ferrari emerged as the leading contender after February’s preseason testing, while McLaren, Red Bull and Mercedes are all expected to be in the hunt from the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on March 14. In all, 12 teams will be on a starting grid, with Lotus racing for the first time since 1994 and the Senna name returning to the track.

“There could be five or six teams who are competitive, and it is still all a bit of a guessing game until we qualify on Saturday in Bahrain,” said defending champion Jenson Button, who switched from Brawn to McLaren in January. “It is great for the sport, and I think it is exciting for the fans of F1, and all of us involved, because we don’t really know what is going to happen.”

Schumacher, a seven-time F1 champ, has returned after three years in retirement and is ready to duel with some familiar foes and others who have emerged during his absence.

Most notably Fernando Alonso, who has been re-energized by his move to Ferrari.

“This is the best car I’ve ever had,” Alonso, a two-time champion, said. “When you join Ferrari if you don’t expect a fast car it means there’s something wrong. I was hopeful and it’s always good to confirm that the car works well.”

Teammate Felipe Massa has also chalked up miles as the Brazilian looks to show he’s recovered from a near-fatal crash at the Hungarian GP in July.

Although Schumacher — who finished runner-up to the Spaniard in his final season — said his former team is the one to beat, most of the paddock considers Alonso the favorite as the iconic red car has had few problems in testing.

Button, meanwhile, left constructors’ champion Brawn GP — now Mercedes — to form an all-British lineup at McLaren alongside Lewis Hamilton, which gives it the past two champions.

McLaren came on strong at the end of testing to carry over its second-half form into the new season, which sees some rule changes that will alter strategy significantly but won’t change much technically.

“(The car) feels all new. It feels light years ahead of what it felt last year at this time,” said Hamilton, who won two races down the stretch to finish fifth. “We’re definitely in a much stronger position. We’ll start a lot higher up than we did last year.”

Button, who got off to a fast start early in the season and then hung on to win his first title, is walking into a tricky situation at McLaren, where Hamilton came up through the ranks and has always been favored. That was clearly visible with Alonso’s well-publicized departure after one season in 2007.

“It’s going good, very good,” Button said. “We’re very open with our opinions and also with our feedback so it’s a good situation to be in.”

Hamilton never had a chance to race Schumacher, whose comeback was cut short last summer when the 41-year-old German couldn’t replace Massa because of severe neck and back injuries. That missed opportunity whetted Schumacher’s appetite to return.

“I feel like it’s the good old days,” Schumacher said. “It’s just the challenge of driving the car, going at the other guys, and fight them, wheel to wheel. I’m here to fight for it. I’m sure we will be in the position.”

Red Bull driver Mark Webber doesn’t expect Schumacher’s return to be all smooth sailing, however.

“It’s totally obvious that he’s maybe not like he was, age-wise. That might be something that we might find out if it works against him,” Webber said. “But you can never underestimate him, we know that. He’s a very determined guy.”

Schumacher teammate, Nico Rosberg, will also be trying to make his mark as he finally gets a seat in a championship-caliber car after four seasons at Williams. Mercedes’ Silver Arrows cars return to the grid for the first time in 55 years.

Hamilton and Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel will also get their first chance to duel with Schumacher, who said the former Brawn team will unlikely battle for the win at Bahrain but should be there for the season-long fight.

Vettel, who finished second behind Button last year, has another fast car but reliability continues to be the question mark. The Austrian team at least has the benefit of a Renault engine, expected to be the most fuel efficient in a season where refueling is banned and cars will only pit to change tires.

Rubens Barrichello replaces Rosberg at Williams, and will be joined by rookie German driver Nico Hulkenberg. Williams is expected to be in the group just behind the leaders alongside Sauber, Force India, and perhaps Renault and Toro Rosso.

“Hopefully we can (compete),” the 37-year-old Barrichello said. “We have a competitive car, if it’s competitive enough to win the first race I don’t know.”

Barrichello, who will go over 300 career races this season, is no longer the oldest driver on the grid. He is younger than Schumacher and 39-year-old Pedro De la Rosa, who partners Japan’s Kamui Kobayashi at Sauber.

Adrian Sutil and Tonio Liuzzi return for Force India, as do Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari for Toro Rosso.

Despite new management and the arrival of Robert Kubica, Renault continues to feel the effects of last year’s poor car and “crashgate” scandal and is just hopeful of points, which now stretch down from eight to 10 after an offseason distribution change. Race winners will be awarded 25 points instead of 10, while the runner-up earns 18 instead of 8.

“We have to be realistic, so we will not go to Bahrain to fight for the podium, that’s for sure,” Kubica said.

Kubica is joined by rookie Russian driver Vitaly Petrov, one of five new faces on the starting grid this year with Lucas Di Grassi joining Timo Glock at new team Virgin Racing.

Virgin and Lotus, which has drivers Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen for its Malaysian-backed return after 16 years, are the only two new teams which tested. Hispania Racing Team, formerly Campos Meta, will go to Bahrain with rookie pair Bruno Senna — nephew of three-time champion Ayrton Senna — and Indian driver Karun Chandhok.

USF1 will not be competing after governing body FIA rejected its bid to start racing after the start of the season.

The decision to expand the grid is looking like the only error made following a season of off-track scandals that included teams nearly forming a breakaway series, Hamilton allegedly lying to stewards to gain an advantage and Renault’s Flavio Briatore banned from the sport for ordering a driver to crash.

Former Ferrari team principal Jean Todt has replaced Max Mosley as FIA president. Mosley, who headed the governing body since 1993, made headlines for his power struggles with the teams and a sex scandal nearly two years ago.

Montreal will host the Canadian GP again after it was removed from last year’s calendar, while a Korean GP will make it 19 races if the track is ready to go by its scheduled Oct. 24 date.

The Australian GP, which normally kicks off the season, will be the second race while Abu Dhabi is set to host the finale on Nov. 14.