[legion]

This could have been disastrous for Michael. I'm not saying he isn't a good driver: he certainly is. He just might not be as good as he used to be, or the current setup of F1 cars might not play so well into his driving style, or the net talent of current F1 drivers is better than it used to be...

It would have been bad for Michael's legacy for him to come back and be a backmarker. I'm not saying that's what would have happened, just at this point his legacy is more important than his current driving talent and he shouldn't risk his legacy.