Schumacher to retire at the end of the season

Suzuka: Seven-times world Formula One champion Michael Schumacher is to retire from the sport for a second time at the end of the season, the German driver told reporters ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix on Thursday.

His Mercedes team announced last week that Schumacher would be replaced by Briton Lewis Hamilton for the start of the 2013 campaign, leaving the 43-year-old without a drive, but rather than looking for another seat elsewhere, the German decided to call it a day.

"I have decided to retire at the end of the year," Schumacher told a packed crowd of journalists gathered around the team's hospitality area at the Suzuka circuit.