Michael Schumacher

Name: Michael Schumacher

Nationality: Germany

Date of Birth: 03rd Jan 1969

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In a season that, by and large, lived up to the high expectations placed upon it, there can be little doubt that Michael Schumacher's comeback was the one major disappointment of 2010.

It was hoped the return of the seven-times world champion would add a whole new dimension to the season's narrative and there seemed little doubt he would be a contender for race wins at least; after all, the sport's most successful driver was teaming up with the new constructors' world champions.

There was also the prospect of a 41-year-old returning after three seasons out to mix it with a new generation of youngsters. The likes of Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel had never raced Schumacher in F1 before: might the old stager show the young guns a thing or two?

The answer was a resounding 'no'. Muted pre-season testing reports on the progress of Mercedes GP's new car revised expectations downwards and although Schumacher was there or thereabouts at the first race of the season in Bahrain, there was little improvement as the year unfolded.

Indeed, the picture at times seemed downright unflattering for the winner of 91 grands prix: Schumacher struggling against drivers half his age for minor placings while the inevitable questions about a quick slip back into retirement surfaced.

Michael ended the year ninth in the drivers' championship, the worst return of his career to date. He was also bested by a team-mate for the first time in his career: Nico Rosberg finishing seventh in the standings and also outqualifying his team-mate 15 times in 19 races.

Has age withered his formidable array of speed, commitment, tactical nous and motivational drive? The arguments against are difficult in the light of last year's showing, although with hindsight the three years Schumacher spent away from the day in-day out freneticism of F1 could also have blunted his skills.

There was little doubt that the rash behaviour which has dogged Schumacher's career almost as much as his success has enhanced it was fully present and correct in Hungary when he almost forced Rubens Barrichello into the pit wall at around 190mph.

Re-emergence of bad boy behaviour aside, though, the question to be asked ahead of the 2011 season is whether a man one year further into his forties can turn last year's experiences - not to mention a new car with new Pirelli tyres - to his advantage?

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Schumacher's F1 debut, the then 22-year-old qualifying seventh for Jordan in Belgium before retiring on the opening lap with a burnt out clutch.

He was soon poached by Benetton and after scoring solitary race wins in both 1992 and 1993, Schumacher claimed his first world title the following year. He retained it in 1995 before joining Ferrari and embarking on the most fruitful period of his career.

Not that the success was automatic. Ferrari were in the doldrums at the time but the combination of Schumacher, team principal Jean Todt, technical director Ross Brawn and designer Rory Byrne eventually galvanised the historic marque.

Although Schumacher was a contender in both 1997 and '98 (he would surely have been in '99 as well but for a broken leg sustained at Silverstone) he had to wait until 2000 to claim his third title.

Ferrari and their fans were therefore able to celebrate a world champion for the first time since 1979. It was a feeling they were to grow accustomed to - and a situation plenty of others, it has to be said, were to grow weary of - in the seasons to come, with Schumacher going on to retain the title for a further four straight years.

In half a decade of dominance, the 2002 and 2004 seasons were to prove the most successful of all, with Schumacher respectively winning 11 out of 17 and 13 out of 18 races.

He faced a stiffer challenge in 2003 after the points system had also been changed to give less weighting to the race winner -the previous year's title was won by July - but ultimately pipped Kimi Raikkonen by two points.

Rivals - principally Fernando Alonso and Renault as it turned out - were finally handed a chance in 2005 after Ferrari's tyre supplier Bridgestone struggled with new rules banning tyre stops in races.

Schumacher's only win that year came in the infamous United States Grand Prix, which saw only six Bridgestone-shod cars take the start after Michelin runners withdrew amid safety concerns.

Ferrari, Bridgestone and Schumacher bounced back strongly in 2006, though, as a surge of victories mid-season placed him as the main rival to Alonso, who had dominated the opening races.

Indeed, it appeared possible that Schumacher might take an eighth title after he supplanted Alonso at the top of the standings in China. But luck played into the Spaniard's hands next time out in Japan where, leading the race, Schumacher's Ferrari suffered a rare engine failure that dealt his challenge a mortal blow.

Upon retirement, Schumacher acted as a consultant to Ferrari and tested their cars on occasion - his desire to try and remain close to the action giving the impression of a man who had yet to get racing out of his system.

That much was made explicitly clear in the summer of 2009 when Schumacher was lined up as Felipe Massa's stand-in at Ferrari after the Brazilian suffered serious injuries during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

A neck injury prevented that comeback but Schumacher's appetite had been whetted. Thus, after world champion Jenson Button left Mercedes GP for McLaren, team boss Brawn - with whom Schumacher won all of his world titles - knew exactly who to call.

Not that either of them would surely have predicted the season that was to follow. Schumacher's best result was fourth as he struggled with a car which, hindered by the narrower front tyres introduced to F1 for 2010, produced too much understeer for his liking.

A lack of front-end grip, however, was not to blame for Michael's swerve towards former Ferrari team-mate Barrichello as the pair duelled for 10th place at the Hungaroring.

Controversy has long dogged Schumacher, of course: the devil lurking within first coming to widespread prominence during the last race of the 1994 season when he collided with Damon Hill as they disputed that year's title.

A similar move on Jacques Villenueve in similar circumstances three years later, however, ended with Schumacher coming off second best before being stripped of his points for the entire 1997 season.

The litany also includes the 2000 Belgian Grand Prix, where Schumacher forced Mika Hakkinen on to the grass at high speed (the Finn eventually winning the race after pulling off a memorable overtaking manoeuvre), the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix (Ferrari's order to Barrichello to pull over within yards of the chequered flag to hand Schumacher the win) and the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix (where Schumacher 'crashed' his car in qualifying in order to prevent Alonso from beating his pole position time).

Schumacher's indiscretions over the years perhaps explain why, in the eyes of some within the sport, he will never stand alongside Formula One's legends in spite of a record which surpasses them all.

Debate is always fierce when discussing Schumacher, his achievements and his place in the pantheon; depending on how his comeback progresses, the subject of his legacy is bound to keep opinions stoked.