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Prost labels Schumacher's comeback 'unrealistic'

ESPNF1 Staff
October 19, 2010 « De la Rosa eyeing return with HRT | »
Alain Prost: 'I think the tyres are just an excuse, because Schumacher always adapted to any sort of car' © Sutton Images
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Alain Prost has said Michael Schumacher lacked the "humility" to set a realistic target for his 2010 return to Formula One.

Prost, who himself returned from a one-year sabbatical to regain the world title in 1993, said Schuamcher's stated aim of an eighth championship "was too high and unrealistic". Rather than battle for wins and the championship, Schumacher has been outpaced by his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.

"He should have said he was coming back to help Rosberg, or Mercedes in its first year, or his friend Ross Brawn. It would have been easier for him," Prost told L'Equipe. "It may have been a lack of humility but I think he saw himself as more powerful than that.

"For me, it's just a question of age. I think the tyres are just an excuse, because Schumacher always adapted to any sort of car. It was his great strength. It's just not possible to return to the top after being away for three years at that age. It's a matter of physiology."

And Prost's comments were backed by Flavio Briatore, Schumacher's boss at Benetton where he won the first two of his seven titles. "We know the Schumacher of Benetton and Ferrari," he told the Times of India. "We know him as a super champion. It was not a right decision on his part to make a comeback. If he continues next year, it will be the same story."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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