It could be "months" before Michael Schumacher has decided his future, Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn has revealed.
The seven time world champion has lost his race seat for 2013 to Lewis Hamilton, but he has been tipped to switch to Sauber or a team management role at Mercedes.
"I think Michael’s going to take a few months to think about things and reflect on things, to decide what to do in the future," Brawn told Reuters Television.
The Briton said Schumacher, 43, is welcome to stay in the Mercedes family.
"There are opportunities within the team, within Mercedes for Michael to stay involved in some capacity or other, and he’s particularly interested in developing high performance cars, that sort of thing," said Brawn.