» Schumacher not the retiring type

Michael Schumacher has rejected suggestions that the existence of a break clause in his Mercedes GP contract means that the 42-year-old will quit the sport at the end of the year.

The speculation was triggered by team principal Ross Brawn, who told media two weeks ago at the European Grand Prix that a third year with the Silver Arrows was entirely at Schumacher’s discretion.

Speaking with reports in the Silverstone paddock, Schumacher said: “I’ve always had the option to stop at any moment I wanted.

“I’m here for a fixed target, a three-year programme, and that is what it is.”

And despite a bumpy race at Valencia, he took some solace from his best performance to-date at the previous round in Canada since making his comeback to the sport last year.

“I aim for an achievement and a fixed time. In all my first 16 years of F1 I always felt that I constantly developed, maybe in smaller rates than you do initially. And so I do now,” he added.

[Image via LAT]