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Schumacher returns and new teams debut at Bahrain

Wed 10th, March 2010

Sakhir, Bahrain (Sports Network) - Series: Formula One. Date: Sunday, March 14. Race: Bahrain Grand Prix. Site: Bahrain International Circuit. Track: 6.299 km (3.914 miles); 23-turn road course Start Time: 8:00 a.m. (et). Laps: 49. Miles: 191.786. 2009 Winner: Jenson Button Television: Speed.

Amid the blistering desert heat, the 2010 Formula One season gets underway this weekend with the Bahrain Grand Prix. Three new teams -- Hispania Racing Team (HRT), Lotus Racing and Virgin Racing -- will make their debuts at Bahrain, but Michael Schumacher will be the center of attention as the seven- time F1 champion returns to the sport.

After three years of retirement, the 41-year-old German is making a comeback with the newly formed Mercedes GP team. Mercedes-Benz recently acquired Brawn GP, which captured the constructors' title and drivers' championship with Jenson Button in the team's maiden season last year.

Schumacher considered a comeback with Ferrari last August to replace the injured Felipe Massa for the remainder of the season but had to rule out the possibility of a return due to injuries he sustained during a motorcycle accident earlier in the year.

When Schumacher signed a multi-year contract to drive for Mercedes in December, he was reunited with team principal Ross Brawn, who guided him to two world championships with Benetton and five with Ferrari.

"The decision to make my comeback feels like a long time ago now, and I can hardly wait for the season to get underway in Bahrain," Schumacher said. "It's funny to think that I will be competing in Formula One again when just a few months ago, I would have declined the opportunity categorically."

Right now, it's anyone's guess who the favorites are for this year's drivers' and constructors' championships.

After winning last year's title, Jenson Button has teamed up with 2008 champion and British compatriot Lewis Hamilton at McLaren. Button recorded six wins in the first seven grand prix last season when he drove for Brawn. He won at Bahrain, which was the fourth race on the '09 calendar.

"I'm really looking forward to getting into my car on Friday morning in Bahrain and knowing that I'm the world champion," Button said. "It's a responsibility and an honor, but it's something I'm going to enjoy for as long as I can."

Two-time champion Fernando Alonso has moved over from Renault to join Felipe Massa at Ferrari. Massa is healthy again after a high speed crash in qualifying at Hungary last July curtailed his '09 season.

Nico Rosberg has paired up with Schumacher to make Mercedes a perennial threat, while Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber hope to give Red Bull another stellar season.

Starting with Bahrain, teams are prohibited from refueling their cars after they have left pit lane prior to the start of the race. F1 has not enacted a fuel ban since the 1993 Australian Grand Prix.

Other rule changes that go into effect this season include: limited sets of tires for race weekends, tougher penalties for engine changes (loss of 10 starting grid positions) and a revised points system.

This will be the seventh time F1 runs at Bahrain International Circuit but the first on the track's new configuration. Bahrain recently increased to 3.914 miles (6.299 km) in length, making it the second longest circuit on the current schedule. Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps has a distance of 4.352 miles. (7.004 km).

Built on former desert, the 23-turn Bahrain track sits less than 20 miles south of the kingdom's capital city of Manama.