Mario
Andretti believes Michael Schumacher could
continue racing in Formula One well into
his 50's.
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The
former F1 world champion says driving
an F1 car has nothing to do with age as
long as the motivation is there. |
"If
Schumacher wants to, he can race in F1
until he's fifty," Andretti tells
Autosprint magazine. "It's not a
physical problem nor a mental one, it's
just about motivations. Through the years
your brain might become less reactive,
but your greater experience helps you.
|
"If
Schumacher keeps this mental condition,
and considering his excellent physical
preparation, then he could race for ten
more years at the top. It's just a matter
of desire and priorities." |
"When
I got on pole at Monza at 41 years old
(in 1982) I drove a scorbutic and difficult
car with 1,100 horsepower, but if I didn't
have problems in the race with the turbo
I would have won the Grand Prix. Obviously
some extreme performances can't be reached
if you aren't at the top physically and
mentally, and at Monza I still was. " |
Andretti
retired from Formula One in 1982 but he
continued to race in the CART series until
the age of 54. Looking back, the 65 year
old says he left the sport for all the
wrong reasons. |
"I
quit at the end of 1994, not for physical
reasons but because I was tired: with
the arrival of Nigel Mansell at the Newman-Haas
team, the atmosphere got bad," explained
Andretti. |
"A
few months after retiring I realized I
made a mistake, as I really only needed
some rest. I mixed up the tiredness of
the moment with the desire to quit racing,
and that was an error I still regret." |
Schumacher,
who has won a record seven Formula One
world championships, will be the oldest
driver on the grid next season at 37.
His contract with Ferrari is set to expire
at the end of 2006 but there has been
talk of an extension.
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