Mat Coch writes:

This weekend marks the end of Michael Schumacher's Formula One career. Having made his debut in 1991, when he crosses the line in Brazil on Sunday afternoon, the 43-year-old will round out an interrupted nineteen year career, which netted 91 Grands Prix wins and 7 world championship titles.

"Interlagos is the right place to round off my career because so much of the fascination of Formula One is rooted there," said the German. "It's simply a great circuit which has seen many memorable events and always produces spectacular races as the unique layout guarantees plenty of action."

Schumacher originally retired at the end of 2006, when Ferrari effectively ushered him out to make way for new-signing Kimi Raikkonen. After three seasons away Schumacher returned to the sport in 2010 driving for Mercedes, and while he showed flashes of greatness he never truly demonstrated the genius which won him seven world titles.

This time around Schumacher believes his retirement is not only final, but will be easier. "My departure from Formula One will probably be less emotional for me this time than in 2006, when we were still fighting for the championship and everything was much more intense," he admitted. "This time round, I will be able to pay more attention to my farewell and hopefully savour it too. I have had fantastic years in Formula One and a lot of support from fans around the world, and I wish to particularly thank them for that."

"With the last race of the season in Brazil also bringing Michael's second and final retirement from Formula One, it will be an emotional weekend for everyone in the team " said team boss Ross Brawn. "Having worked with Michael for the majority of his career, I feel that he is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Formula One driver of all time."

"Michael isn't just the most successful racing driver in the world but also the best known; his ability and character are admired around the globe," added Norbert Haug. "We must thank him both for his committed contribution to the building-up process of our team and also his performances on track."