Schumacher: “A question of time”

Michael Schumacher, who started seventh on Sunday in Bahrain, finished sixth without really being able to hope for better. Despite his seven World Champion titles, the German driver believes that his three years of absence have been detrimental to him.

"JHe hadn?t played in qualifying since the end of 2006, tempers Schumi in the columns of AUTOhebdo n°1744. This seventh place is not bad. This is the one I obtained during my very first GP, in Belgium (1991), on the Jordan. I'm getting my bearings again, day after day. »

In addition, the driver recognizes that the cars have evolved a lot since his first retirement and that his car is not what he would like it to be. “ For the moment, I can't do what I want with my car, he confirms. I suffered from my tires, the soft ones, after a few laps, but everyone has to do the best with the ones we are given. After three years of vacation, things have changed. I have to find my way between new technical things and new regulations. The team and I are working on it. »

Even if he has to adapt to this new version of the F1, the seven-time World Champion has a mixed impression of his performance. But he knows that his competitiveness will return with the experience accumulated this season.

« I am not satisfied with my performance, I admit that I am not yet on the right track. In my opinion, I’m not completely “in” yet. I need to readjust. It’s a nice challenge, which motivates me. When this rhythm returns, with a well-tuned car and the desired behavior, everything will be better. It's a question of time. »

Aware of his current limits, Schumi does not despair of improving over the course of the races. He was even able to highlight, at the end of the Bahrain Grand Prix, a statistic that pleased him. “ I leave with a little personal satisfaction, that of being in the same rhythm as Nico (Rosberg) in the race and significantly faster than him in the best laps of the race, by three hundredths. »

Find the full article on Michael Schumacher, as well as a report on Schumania in Germany, in AUTOhebdo n°1744, on sale this week.