Schumacher wears "red heart" on sleeve for Ferrari

Mercedes Formula One driver Michael Schumacher of Germany steers his car during the second practice session of the Turkish F1 Grand Prix at Istanbul Park circuit in Istanbul May 28, 2010.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Michael Schumacher still feels the warm embrace of his Ferrari 'family', even if the seven times world champion has turned racetrack rival as they celebrate their 800th race in Formula One.

The circuit's most glamorous and successful team reach the milestone Sunday at the Turkish Grand Prix, having started 128 races more than closest rivals and comparative newcomers McLaren, who entered the sport 16 years later.

No other team has been around since the very first championship in 1950, no other can claim such passionate supporters or to represent the soul and spirit of a nation as much as the Italian scuderia.

"When you are part of a community for 14 years it inevitably has an effect on you. I will always have a part of Ferrari inside me," Schumacher, their most dominant champion, said in a statement on the Ferrari website (www.ferrari.com).

"A part of my heart will always be red," added the 41-year-old German, who retired from the sport in 2006 before being coaxed back by Mercedes this year.

"The Scuderia has a really special way of going about its business and it is quite right to speak of itself as a family -- a family that I have long felt part of," continued the man who won five titles with Ferrari.

"The time I spent with Ferrari was wonderful, I made friends and had experiences that I would not want to be without. Concepts that I had never contemplated before my time at Ferrari came to life for me there: legend, culture and history."

PROUD RECORD

Since their debut in Monaco 60 years ago, the team founded by the late Enzo Ferrari have won 15 drivers titles, 16 constructors' championships and 211 races.

There have been 632 podium finishes, 203 pole positions and 221 fastest laps.

Other records include 14 consecutive wins between 1952-53, 80 one-two finishes and 15 wins in a single season (shared with McLaren). Schumacher holds the individual record, with 13 victories in 2004.

The team marked the anniversary in Istanbul with a special logo on the cars' engine covers and a champagne reception for hundreds of guests at a 19th century Ottoman villa on the shores of the Bosphorus.

"I am certainly not a man prone to lyrical expressions, but I now fully understand this passion," said Schumacher of the spell cast by Ferrari. "My greatest passion is racing, and in that we, myself and Ferrari, are very much the same."

Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion and Finnish 'Iceman', agreed that the Italian team had carved a place in his heart as well.

"My character and how I express myself is very different to the Italian way, but that did not stop us from understanding each other and the emotions we shared," said the Finn, who left the team last year to switch to rallying.

"I gave my maximum effort over those three years and I got so much in return and even if, in the end, we went our separate ways, I will always have some really nice memories," he added in a statement on the website.

(Editing by John O'Brien)