Autosport
By Jonathan Noble Wednesday, December 23rd 2009, 08:10 GMT
Michael Schumacher, Ross Brawn and Norbert HaugMichael Schumacher's return to Formula 1 is set to be confirmed later today in a press conference hosted by Mercedes-Benz.
Speculation has been mounting for days that Schumacher has agreed a deal to join Mercedes GP, with reports suggesting that he flew to Britain earlier this week to sign a contract.
Mercedes GP has now confirmed that the identity of its second driver will be announced later this morning - with the team having confirmed several weeks ago that Nico Rosberg will be racing for it in 2010.
Schumacher's F1 return comes after three years on the sidelines, having originally decided to retire from grand prix racing at the end of 2006.
However, last season he came close to a sensational mid-season comeback when he was asked to fill-in for the injured Felipe Massa at Ferrari.
Those plans had to be aborted, however, with Schumacher still suffering from a neck injury that he had picked up in a motorcycle crash earlier in the year.
Schumacher was deeply disappointed at the time, and it may have been the excitement he felt about returning to F1 then that helped motivate him to conclude the deal with Mercedes GP.