Schumacher hails Yas Marina Circuit as fantastic

“It’s a great atmosphere for us drivers driving here. It’s probably state of the art what we have in Formula One,” said the German racing legend who made a surprising comeback after retiring from the sport at the end of the 2008 season.

“It’s a fantastic spectacle and I’m enjoying the weekend,” said Schumacher when asked how he felt qualifying eighth on the grid in the only twilight race of the calendar.

“I liked the circuit straightaway, not too many issues. It’s been quite straight forward all weekend. We have the car sorted and that’s what helps,” he said.

“I didn’t have the best last lap because I didn’t get sectors together which was a shame. One, may be two positions could have been possible. Makes it exciting for tomorrow (Sunday) because if I had taken them now probably there is not much room to improve on from there on,” said the former Ferrari star.

Schumacher, 41, has no regrets at returning to a sport he dominated by teaming up with F1 debutants Mercedes. “It is true I have won the championship several times, but it is also true that sometimes it was taking a while to build it up and this is where we are now,” he said vowing to get back to winning ways next season.

“I’m lucky because I did some other races this year that I had actually won. It will be the first one in Formula One without a win,” quipped Schumacher.

“It has anyway been an interesting year. It’s been very challenging with lots of fun. Now we need to combine the fun and success,” he said.