Michael Schumacher has officially canceled his F1 return due to concerns over a neck injury from a motorcycle accident earlier this year.

Schumacher, a seven-time F1 world champion, had agreed to help out his former team Ferrari and step in for Felipe Massa on a temporary basis after the Brazilian suffered head injuries at the Hungarian grand prix last month. But the German has now abandoned the comeback after failing to overcome injuries suffered in a motorbike accident in February.

Schumacher said: "Yesterday evening, I had to inform Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo and team principal Stefano Domenicali that unfortunately I'm not able to step in for Felipe. I really tried everything to make that temporary comeback possible, however, much to my regret it didn't work out."

The 40-year-old had intended to return at the European Grand Prix in Valencia on 23 August but testing designed to help Schumacher reacclimatise himself to the rigours of F1 have shown the injuries to his neck are "too severe".