Much as I would've liked to see Schumacher return in cloud of glory, it was probably a smart decision on his part to back away from the deal. JMO, but they probably realized in testing that while his times were undoubtably competitive, MS wanted an assurance of podium-level times.
But now we have the next chapter: Fisichella might be jumping into a Ferrari after his 2nd place finish at Spa....ever think you'd be saying that?
This is really shaping up to be a memorable season. Maybe it's karma, but before F1 feels the true effects of the world economy, it seems that all those "old" drivers are finally getting a last reward for their efforts (Rubens, Fisichella, Weber, Trulli.)