PARIS — That Michael Schumacher's comeback is generating such excitement shows how desperate Formula One is for a bit of good news.
In all the breathless headlines about the unexpected return of the sport's most successful driver, it is being conveniently forgotten that much of the era when Schumacher greedily gobbled up his record seven world championships was as boring as watching paint dry. Race, win, race, win, yawn.
That was especially true of 2002 and 2004, when Schumacher and his Ferrari sidekick Rubens Barrichello won 30 of 35 races. It perhaps would have been simpler — and undoubtedly better for global warming — to have handed the trophies to Schumacher at the outset and not bother with those absurdly lopsided seasons.