Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher will meet Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo this week to discuss a possible move to the new Mercedes Grand Prix team for the 2010 season, auto, motor und sport magazine reported Monday.
According to the report, Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali has already given the 40-year-old the all-clear to leave the Italian marque and drive for Mercedes next year.
There has been intense speculation in recent weeks that Schumacher was set to come out of retirement and race again. Bild and Focus news magazine reported on Saturday that Schumacher and Mercedes (formerly Brawn GP) had reached an agreement on a one-year deal for the 2010 season.
Schumacher is the record world champion in the sport with seven drivers’ titles and won an unrivalled 91 races before retiring in 2006.
He planned a comeback at Ferrari in the summer after Felipe Massa was sidelined following a crash, but doctors declared him unfit to race due to neck injuries from a motorcycle accident.
A return for 2010, where he would partner Nico Rosberg, also depends on the German passing the mandatory medical. Doctors said in summer that the neck injuries should have fully healed by the end of this year. — Sapa-dpa