Return to top form for Schumacher ‘impossible’ – Prost

With Michael Schumacher’s difficult comeback season behind him, Alain Prost does not expect the seven time world champion to be back to full speed in 2011.

Frenchman Prost, who is one of F1’s most successful-ever drivers behind 42-year-old Schumacher, said last year that the German targeting the title in his second career was “unrealistic”.

Prost, 55, said Schumacher used Bridgestone’s tyres as an “excuse” for his lack of pace, with “age” being the main factor.

Now, in a new interview with the Swiss newspaper Le Matin Dimanche, Prost said: “His decision to come back was personal and I respect it.

“I think it’s impossible, at his age, to return to where he was in the past, but I hope he proves me wrong.”

Prost said he does not miss racing in F1 because returning is out of the question, but admitted he would “like to do some laps in a modern car”.

“But only to assess the developments in technology, which has always fascinated me,” he explained.

© RIF | GMM