May 11 (GMM) Michael Schumacher's reaction to his poor race in Turkey last weekend showed he is a fighter, not a quitter, his manager Sabine Kehm has insisted.

Following the 42-year-old's admission that "the big joy is not there right now" after a fraught run in Istanbul, many commentators predicted the time is nigh for German Schumacher to return to retirement.

Schumacher's first team boss Eddie Jordan likened the end of his career to boxer Muhammad Ali's, with David Coulthard agreeing that the Mercedes driver is "a once proud warrior now out of fight and damaging his reputation".

"If he feels he can still be competitive, and he is still enjoying himself, then fair play to him," the Scot wrote in his Telegraph column.

"The trouble is at the moment he is not enjoying himself and he does not look consistently competitive," added Coulthard.

But Schumacher's manager Kehm told Bild newspaper: "The guys should all know Michael better than that.

"He shows again and again that he is a fighter. The fact that he is disappointed after a race like Istanbul doesn't disprove the hunger that he has, in fact it reinforces it," she added.

Mercedes' racing boss Norbert Haug agrees: "He is driving like a hungry youngster.

"Of course while the results are missing, there is criticism," he told SID news agency.

Latest F1 News - Mobile version

26 Feb: New Ferrari not quickest in field - Domenicali 26 Feb: Red Bull still best in 2013 - Tost 26 Feb: 2014 French grand prix 'possible' - Prost 26 Feb: Danica Patrick 'not interested' in F1 switch 26 Feb: Report - Gilles Simon working on F1 engine for Honda 26 Feb: Gutierrez plays down link to Carlos Slim 26 Feb: Caterham exhaust 'legal' insists van der Garde 26 Feb: McLaren replaces Mercedes-bound Lowe 25 Feb: 'Engine maps' trouble for Red Bull, Lotus - report 25 Feb: Mercedes-bound Lowe to miss 2013 opener - report 25 Feb: Mercedes 'in group of teams' behind Red Bull - Lauda 25 Feb: Gutierrez expects Hulkenberg to beat him early in 2013 25 Feb: New Ferrari 'much better' than 2012 - Massa 25 Feb: Teams 'will adapt' to new tyre situation - Gutierrez 25 Feb: Tight rules make today's F1 cars 'the same' - Forghieri 25 Feb: Williams removes controversial exhaust trick 25 Feb: Contract 'conflicts' cause of Marussia test snub - Razia 25 Feb: Lotus to fight Red Bull for title - Gutierrez 25 Feb: Marussia 'ahead of Caterham' - Chilton 25 Feb: Sutil will not stay in F1 as test driver The latest F1 News - Mobile Version