Brawn: Schumi's 'pretty close' to what I remember

Ross Brawn believes Michael Schumacher's is "pretty close" to the driver he used to be before retiring from F1.

Schumacher quit the sport back in 2006, however, this year will return after signing a three-year deal to race for Mercedes GP.

The German's return began in the first week of February when he tested in Valencia and, seven-and-a-half days of testing later, Brawn reckon Schumacher is almost back to his best.

"Michael has been very intense in terms of his approach," Brawn told the BBC.

"He's pretty close to what I remember. He stopped because he was tired of F1 but that's gone now. He's very passionate about racing again and is working hard with Nico to improve the car.

"He's got to start getting back into the groove but I don't think Michael will be the issue - we've got to get the car a little bit better."

As for the battle between Schumacher and his younger German team-mate Nico Rosberg, their team boss says it's still too early to tell which of the two will have the upper hand this season

"Until we get Michael and Nico on track at the same time it's impossible to judge between the two of them," he said.

"They both look very good. You don't want to see either driver trailing behind and judging from the tests on different days they are close.

"I don't think they know where they are because conditions and tracks make comparisons different but I think both drivers are looking competitive."

Brawn: Schumi's 'pretty close' to what I remember - Planet-F1 News from planet-f1.com