Schumacher Hates Driving in the F1 Mid-Field

Michael Schumacher admitted that returning to Formula One action after a 3-year absence and finding himself in the position to struggle in the mid-field was not his idea of a dream comeback. Coming to a team that used to dominate the competition a year back, Schumacher found several problems with his 2010 challenger, most of which he kept to himself and within the team's garage.

For those of his fans that believe Schumacher's return to F1 was just a marketing scheme, the 7-time world champion reminded them once again that his goal is to win races and championships. And that's what he'll try to do in the remaining 2 years of his contract.

“There is really only one goal, and that's winning,” said the 41-year old in a recent interview with Swiss newspaper Blick.

“The team won the world championship last year, so it's pretty hard for everyone to have a season like we had. Of course from my side it's important to identify the weaknesses, but I didn't have to put my finger into the wound to wake people up – that is done automatically with the results.”

“So we are extremely motivated to come into a position to be able to win. This is the basic requirement; I said already at the start that I don't want to drive around in the middle (of the field),” he added.

A few weeks back, Schumacher warned the Mercedes fans not to expect a championship charge from his team in the year to come, as he reckoned he will aim for occasional podiums. A few days after that, he told the media he will think about winning races in 2010, but aiming for the world crown would be too much.

As far as his biggest fan Bernie Ecclestone is concerned, Schumacher's real-life pace in F1 could not be evaluated based on his 2010 performances, as the car provided by Mercedes throughout the recently ended campaign was mostly to blame for his struggles.

“Put him (Schumacher) in one of the Red Bulls and then see what happens,” said Ecclestone in the foreword to the Official Formula 1 Season Review 2010.