- Lotus
Lotus approached Schumacher over F1 return
It has emerged that Lotus approached Michael Schumacher as a possible replacement for Kimi Raikkonen at the final two races of the season.
Lotus is expected to go with Heikki Kovalainen now, but reports in Germany said Schumacher was also approached to race at both the US and Brazilian Grands Prix. According to Schumacher's manager, the seven-time world champion turned the team down.
"Michael's performance against Nico [Rosberg last year] and Nico's performance against Lewis [Hamilton this year] made a lot of people aware of how good Michael still was," Sabine Kehm told Reuters. "Plus, he is still very fit. But he just feels so good in his new life."
Schumacher retired at the end of last year after making a comeback in 2010 for three years at Mercedes. A lack of victories saw him retire for good over the winter, but that didn't stop Lotus sounding him out to replace Raikkonen, who is missing the final races to undergo back surgery in Salzburg this weekend.
Nico Hulkenberg was also approached but opted not to go against his current Sauber contract.
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