Michael Schumacher looks to be casting some doubt over whether or not he will activate his one-year option on his three-year deal to return to Formula 1 with Mercedes.
The 42-year-old admitted that his current mindset isn’t right for Mercedes, a team which requires constant development to enable them to compete at the front of the grid.
“I arrived at Mercedes with a specific task: not winning at all costs but to grow this team,” he is quoted as saying by Corriere Dello Sport. “We are working very hard, the car is in its second year and still has many areas of uncertainty, but it will grow.
“If anything, I am the problem – it is a fact that I am a bit more relaxed than I was before. I have experience, I can estimate when it is necessary to concentrate. But I do not know if my mindset is right for the team.”
He added that he will soon make a decision on whether to retire at the end of the current season or continue through 2012.
“Soon I will evaluate whether to continue [racing] or stop.”
Meanwhile, Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn, says he and the whole team are happy with the seven-time world champion, but they wouldn’t want to force him to race if he didn’t feel it was the right decision.
“We called Schumacher in to our team with the task of developing the car, he has a three-year contract and we are very happy with him,” said Brawn.
“But if Schumacher does not feel more at ease, then we need to talk. You can not force someone to do something that they do not want to do. We believe in him, he is an important part of our team.
“I am convinced that eventually we can convince him to extend his contract ,” he concluded.
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