Bernie Ecclestone has admitted he wishes Michael Schumacher never returned from retirement.<\/p>\n
Now, after an unsuccessful three-year comeback with Mercedes, the great German is retiring once again after adding just a single podium to his outstanding former tally of titles and wins.<\/p>\n
“I would rather he had stopped as a seven time world champion than stopping now,” F1 chief executive Ecclestone told the sport’s official website.<\/p>\n
“People new to the sport … will remember Michael now, not as he was.\u00a0 They don’t see the hero that he was but the human that can fail,” he said.<\/p>\n
Ecclestone, 82, said choosing the right moment to quit is “important”.<\/p>\n
“I hope that’s what I can do: when I feel I can’t deliver, I will certainly say goodbye,” he promised.<\/p>\n
Ecclestone acknowledged, however, that it is the fact Schumacher is such a “competitive guy” that meant he could not stay away.<\/p>\n
Indeed, after initially quitting F1 in 2006, he soon turned his hand to competitive motorcycle racing and only narrowly escaped serious injury.<\/p>\n
And Schumacher, 43, was back on two wheels at the weekend.<\/p>\n
At France’s Paul Ricard circuit, he lapped with British TT star John McGuiness, according to Bild newspaper.<\/p>\n
“He is the godfather of motor sport,” McGuiness is quoted as saying.\u00a0 “And the great man can ride a bike.”<\/p>\n
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