Schumacher had a troubled first season on his return to F1

Michael Schumacher has blamed some of his poor form in his comeback season on problems that afflicted his Mercedes, but not that of team-mate Nico Rosberg.

In an unusually candid interview with German magazine Auto Motor und Sport, Schumacher made clear his frustration with a litany of complaints.

"How do you think I felt?" the 41-year-old seven-time champion said.

"There were throughout the season many question marks which I am convinced will no longer exist in 2011."

Schumacher returned to Formula 1 in 2010 after a three-year retirement but was out-performed nearly all season by German compatriot Rosberg, 25.

The younger man, who has yet to win a race in F1, out-qualified Schumacher 15-4 and scored 142 points to his more illustrious team-mate's 72.

Schumacher said there were a number of races in which he was significantly slower than Rosberg and did not understand why, only to find out later that there had been a problem with the car.

We will make a huge leap forward in 2011 and - if all goes well - win races Michael Schumacher

The Formula 1 legend mentioned occasions when the exhausts burnt a hole in the floor of his car. This would have adversely affected the amount of downforce it created and therefore how fast it could go around corners.

At other times, he said, his car's F-duct aerodynamic device malfunctioned so that it worked in corners as well as on the straights, again significantly reducing grip.

He also complained that the Bridgestone tyres varied in their performance "from set to set", which exacerbated problems he was having with their general tendency to produce a lack of grip at the front of the car, a characteristic Schumacher dislikes.

He admitted he grew frustrated with this over time and ultimately told team bosses Ross Brawn and Norbert Haug that they should make some kind of public statement about why he was struggling.

This also explains why he admitted to BBC analyst Martin Brundle on the grid before the Japanese Grand Prix in October that his F-duct had malfunctioned in qualifying at that race, information he would not normally have shared with the public.

Schumacher hit head-on by Liuzzi

"As I have said to Norbert and Ross, it was time to explain why this had happened," Schumacher told the magazine.

When asked why he had not mentioned these issues previously, he replied: "I prefer to speak internally."

Schumacher was not saying that these problems were the only reason for his poor form.

He admitted that his driving following three years in retirement was also to blame.

When asked what grade he would give himself on the one-to-six scoring system used in German schools, Schmacher replied: "Three."

"I was away for three years," he added. "I am no longer 25, but 41. The car is a compromise. Together with the structure of the tyre, it is difficult for me to drive how I want to.

"I brake as late as possible and try to take the corner as fast as possible. But with these tyres on our car, you have to make compromises and that's not always easy."

Schumacher blamed the problems his car suffered on the team going through a restructuring period.

606: DEBATE I don't think Schumacher has been as bad as people make the season was for him SJM1337

They won the drivers' and constructors' titles in their previous guise as Brawn in 2009, but during that season the team cut 240 jobs as a result of their transition from ownership by Honda in 2008 to a privateer team. Mercedes then took over the team in November 2009.

Brawn has since admitted that the team "didn't put in place a robust-enough engineering group" and "generally got ourselves in a bit of a corner".

The end result was a car that was some way off the pace of title contenders Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren and which was not able to win a single race in 2010 after the team took eight victories in 2009.

But Brawn and Schumacher both believe they will be more competitive in 2011.

"We are clearly in a better situation because of the immense support from Mercedes," Schumacher reflected.

"But we must not be so presumptuous to think that we will therefore automatically fight for the championship in 2011.

"We will make a huge leap forward and - if all goes well - win races."

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