Highlights

Brawn hints at technical role for Schumacher

(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-09-30 15:03

Michael Schumacher could be lined up for a technical role at Ferrari after he retires as a Formula One driver next month.

The team's technical director Ross Brawn told reporters at the Chinese Grand Prix that he expected the seven times world champion, who announced his retirement at Monza three weeks ago, to stay involved.

"Michael needs to reflect, it's a big decision that he's come to and I think he needs some time to reflect on it all," Brawn said of the German's future plans on Saturday.

"There's plenty of options.

"He's a very bright guy, very experienced at Formula One. Very capable. There's a combination of what he would enjoy doing and what fits in with the team.

"I believe he will be involved with the team in the future, I think he wants to be involved with the team and it could be any number of activities from an ambassadorial role to a technical role or a mix."

Chief race engineer Luca Baldisserri, Brawn's number two, was quoted in Italian newspapers after Monza as saying he hoped Schumacher -- fighting for a record eighth title -- might continue to test occasionally.

PHYSICAL EXPERIENCE

Brawn said it was possible but unlikely.

"To be frank, to drive a Formula One car these days you've got to be really fit, really sharp," he said.

"I don't know if Michael wants to maintain that level of fitness when he stops.

"He trains four, five, six hours a day at the moment and you need to, to drive the car... It's such a physical experience to drive one of these cars that if you're not doing it all the time, you'll struggle -- and Michael understands that.

"I don't think Michael is going to want to hop in a Formula One car every few months and give a declaration of what it's like, because it doesn't work like that. I'm not sure that's what he wants to do," Brawn said.

Schumacher is being replaced at Ferrari, a team he has likened to a second family after more than a decade at Maranello, by McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen.

Brawn expected the Finn to settle in quickly.

"We didn't get into a long debate about who it should be. Kimi was always our first choice," he said.

"For us, we felt he was the quickest with the sort of attitude we like -- quiet, gets on with it and would fit well into Ferrari."