Schumacher took advantage of a collision between Lewis Hamilton and Pastor Maldonado on the penultimate lap to steer his Mercedes into a long coveted top-three finish in Valencia.
The 43-year-old German great says of his third-place finish that "it's these moments that you enjoy deeply. It's wonderful to be back after so much time."
Schumacher had endured a wretched season, failing to finish five of the previous seven races and only collecting two points.
The last time the seven-time champion had made it onto a podium was in 2006.
Schumacher returned to F1 in 2010 after a three-year hiatus.
