Does Schumacher still have the will to win?

The return of seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher to Formula One - after a three-year absence - has ignited fresh interest in the sport after a 2009 season marred by controversy. Comparisons have already been drawn with Niki Lauda, who won his third title in 1984 after likewise coming out of retirement two years previously.

Expectations are naturally high - not least Schumacher's own. "We have a clear aim: we want to win the championships," he said on his official website. "That's what we will fight for from the beginning. That is my personal standard too."

It's an ambitious target for his first season out of retirement, especially since at the moment it is far from clear how competitive he will be.

Testing times

Schumacher recently completed a three-day test in a GP2 car at Jerez in Spain, during which he completed more than 1100km, with a best time of 1m 24.621s: two-thirds of a second faster than the best lap of 2009, set by Giedo van der Garde, and not far short of the ultimate GP2 circuit record, set by Kamui Kobayashi in 2008, of 1m 24.262s.

What this means is difficult to tell. Officially the test was scheduled to develop elements of the third-generation GP2 car that will make its debut in 2011, as well as to evaluate updated components for 2010 - suggesting that Schumacher's car was an evolution of that driven by Kobayashi and van der Garde. The exact specifications are unknown, and there is no reliable benchmark against which to assess his performance. So while the figures may seem impressive at first glance, they do not necessarily tell the whole story.

Regardless, Schumacher was confident after the test, stating: "I am very happy with the way testing went here: we worked well, times and consistency were well [sic] ... I feel fit, I felt comfortable immediately back in the car - hey, let's go for it!"

The will to win

The real challenge, however, will come in maintaining that freshness and motivation over a full Formula One season. 2010 is set to be a marathon, incorporating no less than 19 Grands Prix - two more than last year - making it the joint-longest in the history of the sport. (The 2005 championship is the only other to have been contested over so many rounds.) There are few doubts about Schumacher's physical fitness. The issue is rather one of mental strength: whether he has the hunger and the drive to succeed.

With seven world titles under his belt, not to mention 91 race victories, his place in motorsport history is assured. What else does he have to prove? Money is not an issue: he has easily enough to keep him comfortable in retirement, while his three-year deal with Mercedes is reported to be worth just $7m, a fraction of what he was earning with Ferrari. Perhaps, as many have suggested, his main reason for returning to F1 is simply because he misses the buzz of racing. But if that is the case, he may be found wanting.

Success in Formula One requires an unrelenting drive - especially if the field is as close and competitive as it was in 2009, when the entire field was often covered by as little as two seconds. Anything less than total commitment will be quickly found out, and therein lies the problem. Simply put, there is nothing at stake for Schumacher, in contrast with others such as Vettel and Massa - both hungry for their first titles - and Button, Hamilton and Alonso - who all have points to prove in 2010. At the same time there will be considerable pressure from team-mate Nico Rosberg, who will be eager to translate the potential he showed at Williams into race-winning pace.

In the face of such competition, will Schumacher have the determination to push that extra bit harder, to risk everything for that perfect qualifying lap? Will he have the same appetite for wheel-to-wheel racing, or the nerve to make an overtaking move stick? In the past, the answers to all those questions would have been a categorical yes. Now it is far from certain.

Managing expectations

A tremendous amount, of course, depends on the package that Mercedes provides for him. Unless the new car is capable of contending with the likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull, his motivation could quickly wane. He will not want to spend his races in the midfield, scrabbling for the minor points positions. Nothing less than the best will be enough.

He has a lot of hard work ahead of him if he is to achieve his goal. There are only 15 days of testing available before the start of the season, which are to be divided evenly between himself and Rosberg. It is not a lot of time for the German to acclimatise himself with the new generation of F1 machinery and get up to speed.

Already Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn has been keen to manage expectations, saying that it will probably be some time before Schumacher is able to contend for race victories. Exactly how much time is the question on everbody's lips.

Video originally uploaded to YouTube by GPUpdate.