F1之王舒马赫的艰难复出

Four races into his return to Formula 1, Michael Schumacher, arguably the greatest racing driver in history, is in unfamiliar territory.

The man who obliterated a slew of records and dominated this sport during a 16-year career on the world's most elite motor-racing circuit finds himself way off the pace and way down the standings.

Nearly a quarter of the way through his comeback season, Mr. Schumacher's best showing is a sixth-place finish in the opening race in Bahrain. Since then, he's twice finished 10th and was forced to drop out in Malaysia when a wheel nut fell off his car. He hasn't qualified better than seventh in a single race, either, and currently ranks tenth in the drivers' championship.

Yet the 41-year-old Mr. Schumacher, who just came out of his three-year retirement in December, is surprisingly at ease with the leisurely pace of his return.

'I'm pretty much where I expected to be,' Mr. Schumacher said in an interview this week. 'I'm not a dreamer that believes I can just cancel out three years, jump in and kick everybody's a -- , that wasn't my idea. It will take time to feel as confident as I used to be.'

Ahead of this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, Formula 1 fans are no longer asking whether Mr. Schumacher is still the best driver in the world right now. They're asking whether he's even the best driver on his team.

While most people didn't expect Mr. Schumacher to be winning from the get-go, they did expect him to be at least as sharp as his Mercedes teammate, Nico Rosberg -- a promising young driver, to be sure, but one with only two podium finishes in 70 races before this season.

In fact, the 24-year-old German has routinely outpaced and outraced his more experienced compatriot. Despite his staggering record 91 Grand Prix wins and 154 podium finishes, Mr. Schumacher is one of only two drivers to have been outqualified by his teammate in every race this season.

Some observers are now questioning the wisdom behind Mr. Schumacher's comeback -- and even whether he's lost the winning formula. Sir Jackie Stewart, a three-time world champion, suggested this week that Mr. Schumacher could be 'past it.' Others have queried the racer's drive: With half a billion in the bank, is Mr. Schumacher still willing to push himself to the limit as he did earlier in his career?

Racing insiders believe we'll have a better idea of exactly when -- or if -- Mr. Schumacher can return to the top of the sport in Barcelona this weekend, where Mercedes plans to unveil a radically redesigned car that has the potential to propel the sport's most prolific winner back to the front of the grid.