From GMM
Ousted Renault F1 Team Director Flavio Briatore does not think seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher will ever again demonstrate the form that netted him seven world titles until his initial retirement.
Briatore, no longer involved in F1 in the wake of last year's Renault crashgate scandal, was team boss at Benetton at the time of Schumacher's first back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995.
Italian reports quote the 60-year-old as saying the German "will not revive" the form of his first career.
"I always said that Michael would find it tough against Rosberg," said Briatore.
"This year is going to be uncomfortable for him because there have never been so many good drivers fighting to win grands prix," he added.
Briatore then admitted he does not highly rate F1's reigning champion and current championship leader, Jenson Button.
When a younger and less focused Button struggled at Briatore-led Benetton in 2001, the Italian said his British driver was so slow at Monaco it seemed he was scouting for a new place to moor his yacht.
And in 2009, when Button was driving a Brawn and running away with the title amid the double-diffuser controversy, Briatore said the 30-year-old was a "paracarro" -- an Italian word for a concrete roadside post.
Briatore is quoted as saying in Italian reports: "I never said he (Button) was not good, but for me he is not among the five fastest drivers in the world."
Ousted Renault F1 Team Director Flavio Briatore does not think seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher will ever again demonstrate the form that netted him seven world titles until his initial retirement.
Briatore, no longer involved in F1 in the wake of last year's Renault crashgate scandal, was team boss at Benetton at the time of Schumacher's first back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995.
Italian reports quote the 60-year-old as saying the German "will not revive" the form of his first career.
"I always said that Michael would find it tough against Rosberg," said Briatore.
"This year is going to be uncomfortable for him because there have never been so many good drivers fighting to win grands prix," he added.
Briatore then admitted he does not highly rate F1's reigning champion and current championship leader, Jenson Button.
When a younger and less focused Button struggled at Briatore-led Benetton in 2001, the Italian said his British driver was so slow at Monaco it seemed he was scouting for a new place to moor his yacht.
And in 2009, when Button was driving a Brawn and running away with the title amid the double-diffuser controversy, Briatore said the 30-year-old was a "paracarro" -- an Italian word for a concrete roadside post.
Briatore is quoted as saying in Italian reports: "I never said he (Button) was not good, but for me he is not among the five fastest drivers in the world."