Hans-Joachim Stuck, a former F1 driver and now president of Germany’s motor racing federation DMSB, thinks Michael Schumacher is being pushed back into retirement.
After a less-than-shining three year comeback with Mercedes, seven time world champion Schumacher will retire again after his 308th and final career grand prix this weekend in Brazil.
The famous German also ’retired’ in Brazil six years ago.
"It will probably be less emotional for me this time than in 2006, when we (Ferrari) were still fighting for the championship and everything was much more intense," Schumacher said this week.
Schumacher and Mercedes have gone to great lengths to counter the perception that the 43-year-old is being callously ousted to make room for 2013 arrival Lewis Hamilton.
But when asked about Schumacher’s impending retirement, Stuck is quoted by spox.com: "He had no choice.
"Mercedes signed Lewis Hamilton and Michael couldn’t find another adequate cockpit."
Stuck said he regrets that F1’s most successful driver of all time will no longer be on the grid from next year.
"I would like to have kept watching him try to match up to the younger drivers," said the 61-year-old.