Thread: Ecclestone defends Schumi

Bernie Ecclestone has suggested that it is just a matter of time before Michael Schumacher finds his feet - and the top of the podium - following his three-year lay-off from racing.

Then 78-year old's admiration of the seven-time world champion is clear, as is his delight in having him back in the fold at a time when F1's image was flagging, and he insists that it is wrong to judge him on the first four races of a season in which Mercedes has not been able to live up to the lightning start achieved by predecessor Brawn GP in 2009.

"Michael's Mercedes comeback has a touch of magic," Ecclestone told the official F1 website, "I don't know any other combination that, on the one hand, is so fascinating and, on the other, has a huge potential to be extremely successful. Maybe the only other that springs to my mind is Fernando Alonso and Ferrari.

"Michael is an asset to every team, and I am sure [Mercedes'] Norbert [Haug] would be the first to admit that Michael's results are not purely down to Michael, but have to do with the fact that Mercedes is not performing on the same level as Red Bull and McLaren. Anybody who criticises Michael is wrong - he deserves better."

The German has been comprehensively out-performed by Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg, who currently lies second in the championship to McLaren's Jenson Button, but Ecclestone is quick to point out that Schumacher is not only coming back after a three-year 'retirement', but returns to a new-look F1 following last season's rule changes.

"Nico is very talented and Michael was on holiday for three years," he insists, "Ask me the same question after another two races but, at the moment I would say, don't underestimate Michael.

"Michael would have never returned had he not been convinced that he can do the job. Give him time to adapt to the new car and the new tyres. At the moment, he's something of a newbie who has to get accustomed to the trade again. But he's not a tourist in the paddock - he's here to win. And he will win again.

Schumacher has managed a best result of sixth place from the opening round of the championship in Bahrain, and has just two tenth places from the three races since then, but Haug insists that he expects the 41-year old's performance to improve as the campaign heads to Europe.


"At the moment, we don't have the best performing car on the grid," Haug acknowledged, "We have known that fact since the first day of testing, but we are in good shape for the future. Other teams are still working with double the headcount that we do. This should not sound like an excuse but rather an explanation. We will definitely be fighting for victories soon.

Maybe he'll win, maybe not. He's outperformed a good number of the field since coming back, so he's no slouch, that's for sure. I'm not a fan, though, so I don't really care what he does.