Age has slowed down Michael Schumacher, his countryman and former rival Heinz-Harald Frentzen said on Tuesday.
Early in their motor racing careers, it was the now 44-year-old Frentzen who was considered the quicker of the pair, but Schumacher went on to dizzying heights in F1 while the other German retired in 2003 with just three wins.
Schumacher, 43 next month, retired three years later than Frentzen but returned in 2010 with Mercedes, where in two seasons so far he has failed to add a podium to his tally of 91 wins and seven world titles.
"As you grow older," Frentzen explained to the Indo Asian News Service, "you tend to hesitate and become indecisive whether or not to push and take risks.
"You lose precious tenths of a second. I think Michael is at that stage in his career."