The holder of nearly every F1 record and seven-time Formula One world champion will return to F1. Michael Schumacher, one of the greatest of all time, will take Felipe Massa’s seat at Scuderia Ferrari for as long as needed for Massa to recover from injuries suffered during qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Earlier this week, Schumacher’s manager said that he was “200 percent sure” that Michael would not drive for Ferrari because “When Michael was racing he would get as close to perfection as possible. In this case, it would not be perfection; it would be a gamble – and that’s not Michael’s style.” Of course, Mr. Weber wouldn’t mind if Schumacher did drive in three weeks’ time because he would be getting a percentage.

Schumacher confirmed that he would be racing for the Scuderia on his website. His statement indicated that he was filling in out of loyalty to the team. On his website, Schumacher issued a statement saying:

I was meeting this afternoon with Stefano Domenicali and Luca di Montezemolo and together we decided that I will prepare myself to take the place of Felipe. Though it is true that the chapter Formula 1 has been closed for me since long and completely, it is also true that for loyalty reasons to the team I cannot ignore that unfortunate situation. But as the competitor I am I also very much look forward to facing this challenge.

The big challenge for Schumacher will be driving the car and learning the track. Schumacher hasn’t driven the F60 but has driven lower downforce and more powerful F1 cars without many electronic driver aids, though that was many years ago. Also, he has never driven on the Valencia Street Circuit. However, to make things more interesting, he has never driven against rising F1 stars Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. It will be interesting to see how a rusty Schumacher will fare in his return to Formula One racing. Mind you, it will be fun to see how he does at tracks he excelled at like Monza and Spa.

Of course, Michael has been keeping busy with projects outside Ferrari since he retired in 2006. Recently, he’s been moonlighting at The Stig on BBC2’s Top Gear. At least, we think he is The Stig.

UPDATE: Actually, he’s decided not to make his massive comeback.