Fifteen years ago, on December 23, 2009, Michael Schumacher shocked the motorsport world by announcing his return to Formula 1 with Mercedes, three years after retiring.

Partnering with Nico Rosberg, the seven-time champion joined the newly rebranded team, aiming to help build a future powerhouse in F1.  

At 41 years old, Schumacher faced a grid filled with younger, hungrier drivers and evolving technology that differed greatly from what he had dominated in the early 2000s.

On top of that, the Mercedes car at the time, while competitive, wasn’t a race-winning machine. Despite the challenges, Schumacher showed flashes of his brilliance, including a memorable pole position at the 2012 Monaco Grand Prix, though a grid penalty denied him the chance to start from the front.

His three seasons didn’t bring another title, but the German’s experience and determination were instrumental in shaping Mercedes into the dominant team it would become with Lewis Hamilton in the hybrid era a few years later.

This anniversary also comes close to a 11-year mark since Schumacher’s tragic skiing accident on December 29, 2013, in the French Alps. The accident left him with a severe brain injury, and since then, updates on his condition have remained private ever since.