Lest we forget Michael Schumacher remains an ambassador for Mercedes, and this week he filmed a short interview for the company in which he shared his thoughts on the team’s form in 2013, his life in retirement, and Sebastian Vettel.
The former champ said he was pleased to see the team make progress this season.
“I mean it is a great result,” said Schumacher. “Particularly if you consider where we’re coming from last year. I mean we’ve been absolutely nowhere by the end of the year. And nobody could have expected to be fighting, even at part of the season, for the championship. So they did it, they had a great start of the year and they even were able to a sort of push through the year quite hard. Until a point that they understood, ‘Ah OK, here we are at the end of the championship for us, so it is better to focus on to 2014.’ As so we did in the past, the infrastructure now is in place.
“Since quite a while Ross Brawn decided to have the right amount of people in the right position and everything now is there to have the base to fight the championship in the future. And that’s what I think can happen. Anyway, congratulations for the second position.”
Schumacher praised Sebastian Vettel – and insisted he won’t mind losing some of his records to his countryman.
“Great job, very consistent, look at his team mate, that’s your reference point that you take. I mean he won all those races, 13 this year I think. Mark Webber, he won none in the end, if I’m right. That is pretty shocking. I’m glad I’m not his team mate! But definitely he is the worthy truly champion. I’m really happy for him. If somebody can break all this records I prefer it to be him, than somebody else.”
He insisted that he has no regrets about stopping when he did.
“Formula One is certainly the highlight of motor sport and it’s great to drive the car absolutely, yes. I enjoyed when I have been in Nurburgring to drive the car, to have a bit of fun, but to do it seriously, no. I’m tired of this one and that is why I decided so, because Mercedes gave me the option to continue for the future, and I didn’t really fancy it. I have arrived in my new life and that’s very nice. Even if you go back after the first time I retired I didn’t really miss it because I have so many other pleasureful things to do, so it is a good life.
“I’m looking after young drivers in the go-kart area. I’ve always been close to the go-kart scene. I have a friend, he builds go-karts and I do actually test drives and development for him. Yeah, karting is a fascinating world that I still love to be involved in and I always see young kids and they come along and so I give them my point of view and they appreciate that.”
Adam Cooper F1 