After questions,a full stop

Micheal Schumacher achieved more than any other driver in F1 but the winner of a record seven world championships and 91 Grand Prix could not beat time,however,hard he raced.

Announcing his second,and seemingly final,retirement at the Japanese Grand Prix on Thursday,the German acknowledged that it was time to go at the end of the season in November.

The Schumacher Mark II,now 43 years old and driving a suitably silver Mercedes,has become a scuffed shadow of the shiny Mark I model who dominated racetracks around the world in the colours of Benetton and Ferrari. I have decided to retire by the end of the year, he told reporters.

His truly remarkable career will stand as a drama in two parts,with a three-year intermission,that some will see as an entirely fitting outcome for a driver who also divided the sport like few others. Back in 2006,when Schumacher informed the world that he would be retiring as a Ferrari driver at a Monza news conference after the Italian Grand Prix,it seemed like the end of an era.

A bouquet of records

He had a string of records to his name,including finishing every race on the podium in 2002 and winning the title with six races to spare. In 2004,he chalked up a record 13 wins with seven of them in a row. Thursdays announcement did not seem as momentous after three disappointing comeback years with Mercedes in which he has so far produced just one podium finish and that a third place this year.

The man who was supposed to lead the Silver Arrows works Mercedes back to the top of the podium was a mere spectator when team mate Nico Rosberg 26 at the time secured the long-desired win in China this year. There has been a question mark over Schumachers future all season and he said on Thursday,after replacing it with a full stop,that he felt released from his own doubts.

Schumacher may be the greatest,although the number who would dispute that has grown after three unimpressive years. He is the greatest racing driver of this century, said Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn. Few can disagree.

Forgettable return

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There was no glorious return to the track though as Schumacher struggled in his first two seasons,finishing ninth and then eighth as compatriot Sebastian Vettel romped to back-to-back driver8217;s titles in 2010 and 2011 respectively.

Schumacher scored his first podium since returning at the European Grand Prix where he finished third at the Valencia street circuit before taking part in his 300th F1 race in Belgium in July.

Was ditched by Mercedes last month when the German team announced they had signed Briton Lewis Hamilton from McLaren to drive alongside Nico Rosberg for 2013.