• Editor's comment

Give Schumacher some time

Michael Schumacher chats with Niki Lauda in Melbourne - Lauda came back in 1982 from a similar break and two years later won the world title ... but he was eight years younger when he returned © Sutton Images

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Two races into the season and the glorious return of Michael Schumacher is already beginning to be questioned. Less than ten days ago he was third favourite with the bookies to land an eighth world title. Two indifferent outings later and he is 25-1 to win the Malaysian Grand Prix or the drivers' championship. Perhaps inevitably, the press are beginning to turn on a man who was never one of their favourites.

It's still early days. To come back after a three-year break from top-level competition is incredibly hard for any sportsman, and the world is littered with those who have tried to turn back the clock and failed. To do so at 41 is an almost impossible ask, even for a legend.

What was inevitable was that it would take Schumacher a few races to dust off the cobwebs - in boxing parlance, he is horribly ring rusty. That showed at the weekend when he found himself in lower-order battles with the type of cars he would previously only ever have noticed as he lapped them.

But he is a good driver - maybe not great anymore, but certainly good enough - and Mercedes has a decent car. In Australia he never got into the race, and in the procession that was Bahrain he did not really have a chance to make much impact.

Don't waste money by backing him to win the title. But equally, don't write him off quite yet. The key is to keep expectations realistic. Even a podium finish for a 41-year-old from a distant era would be an achievement; were he to win a race it would be remarkable.

But his mere presence on the grid will serve to give 23 other drivers an extra incentive as well as to provide the sport with added publicity and interest. For that alone, let's hope he's around for some time to come.

Martin Williamson is managing editor of digital media ESPN EMEA

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