Even former champion such as Alain Prost doubt about it, Michael Schumacher remains convinced he can add an eighth F1 world championship title to his name.
After three-year absence, the German returned to grand prix racing last year with Mercedes, but found himself struggling with Bridgestone's tire characteristics.
Having shown signs of progress at the end of 2010 season, Michael Schumacher is confident about the technical package of his new Mercedes GP W02 and says he can win the world championship again.
In an exclusive interview with F1 Racing, Michael Schumacher said he had no doubts about what is possible over the remaining two years of his contract.
Asked if he expected to be world champion in 2011, he said: "Absolutely. Look, we have a three-year project. Very clearly right now, we are not where we want to be. We've put a lot of effort into coming back and are optimistic we have a chance. But in the history of Formula 1, when does it ever happen that you come back straightaway from this level to win in just one year? Very rarely. So I'm sure we can fight for wins this year and we might be able to fight for the championship. I hope so. I'm here on a mission and I want to succeed. I want to perform and I'm going to put 100 per cent into it. And if that's not the case in 2011, then we will have to do it in the final year."
Mercedes GP will unveil its W02 on the first day of the Valencia test next Tuesday, Michael Schumacher will first drive the car on Wednesday.
After three-year absence, the German returned to grand prix racing last year with Mercedes, but found himself struggling with Bridgestone's tire characteristics.
Having shown signs of progress at the end of 2010 season, Michael Schumacher is confident about the technical package of his new Mercedes GP W02 and says he can win the world championship again.
In an exclusive interview with F1 Racing, Michael Schumacher said he had no doubts about what is possible over the remaining two years of his contract.
Asked if he expected to be world champion in 2011, he said: "Absolutely. Look, we have a three-year project. Very clearly right now, we are not where we want to be. We've put a lot of effort into coming back and are optimistic we have a chance. But in the history of Formula 1, when does it ever happen that you come back straightaway from this level to win in just one year? Very rarely. So I'm sure we can fight for wins this year and we might be able to fight for the championship. I hope so. I'm here on a mission and I want to succeed. I want to perform and I'm going to put 100 per cent into it. And if that's not the case in 2011, then we will have to do it in the final year."
Mercedes GP will unveil its W02 on the first day of the Valencia test next Tuesday, Michael Schumacher will first drive the car on Wednesday.