"Pressure? I can handle it"

Michael Schumacher tells F1 Racing why he's not giving up on the biggest comeback in F1 history - and the likes of Bernie, Jenson and Gerhard Berger throw in their opinions, too

Everyone wants to have a pop at Michael Schumacher these days - especially after the Hungarian Grand Prix. His move on Rubens Barrichello may have resulted in an unprecedented apology from Michael, but it's the first time since his comeback that he's shown a glimpse of the ruthlessness he was famed for in his Ferrari heyday. While the mantle of villainy now seems to have been passed on to Fernando Alonso these days, for the most part this season Schumacher has been left with a raft of fans and pundits alike simply claiming he's past it and should never have come back. He could always absorb accusations of not playing by the rules with a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders, a tactic that's clearly been adopted by Alonso. But how does a seven-time world champion react to people... well, writing him off as a has-been?

"Are they? I do not think so," states Michael Schumacher with emphatic clarity, never leaving room for a shred of ambiguity. "Maybe some have, but they have not understood how I am: I love to fight, I love to compete, I love to work with my team. Of course it would be easier if everything worked out better at the moment, but then it is a process - a three-year-project that has just started. I can only say that it would be far too early to write me off yet. I intend to be here for a while and go for it."

If it was someone like Romain Grosjean saying this, you may be tempted to have a little snigger while you nodded thoughtfully with a 'serious interview face', but this is Michael Schumacher. He is a legend: a man with the same number of world titles as Alain Prost and Niki Lauda combined. But surely some pressure must have seeped through his seemingly impenetrable Germanic exterior? "No, not too much," comes the considered response. "It is clear that there is pressure when you put together three names like Mercedes, Ross and mine, especially after Ross and his team won last year's championship. Internally, we were aware that this year could be very different to last, but clearly this was not obvious to the outside, which is why their expectations were somewhat different. Pressure is okay though, I can handle it I think. My approach has not changed because of that, I am still aiming to fight for the title."

But when? Most observers have already written off his chances of winning a race this season, the thinking being that he couldn't have picked a more difficult season to come back. So has it been harder than he thought? "Yes, in a way. I was probably underestimating how far away the cars and tyres we have now are from the cars and tyres we had then." There's also the issue of testing, something Schumacher used to his advantage so much at Ferrari - and he would like to make his feelings known...

"The fact that testing is not allowed any more - something that made me even think of whether to come back at all - is not helping here. It is somewhat stupid, considering the amount of effort, work and money which is put into the sport. So yes, I am still running a bit behind in some areas, such as qualifying. But I am confident enough to think I can still develop, as this has always been the nature of the sport and this has always been one of the things I like so much about it."

Michael Schumacher has had his say. Now it's time for various F1 luminaries, drivers, pundits, ex-drivers, the current world champion and the man who runs the sport to have theirs...