Record breaking-multiple F1 world champion Michael Schumacher has admitted he is already focusing on F1 2011 - and that he has no realistic chance of winning the drivers' title this season.

Schumacher, who opted to return to the sport this year with Mercedes Grand Prix, having 'retired' at the end of 2006, has yet to really shine and to date he has been overshadowed by his younger team-mate, fellow countryman Nico Rosberg.

Indeed while Schumacher has only scored 34 points - his best results two fourth places, Rosberg has scored more than double that, 75 points, and Nico has also taken two podiums too.

It has led to a lot of speculation that the 41-year-old might quit, although he is adamant that is not something he is considering.

"Winter testing hinted that to win the championship would be tough," Schumacher told British newspaper, The Daily Telegraph on the eve of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

"Here, where we are now, I'm not thinking of the championship anymore. That is unrealistic from my point of view. [But] we need to try to learn as much as we can and prepare for next year. That's what I'm fully motivated towards."

But is he finding it tough, languishing down the order and only finishing 11th and 15th, as he did most recently in Montreal and Valencia?

"I can only repeat that I have been in all sorts of circumstances through my career. Don't worry. I don't suffer at all about this in a way that affects my motivation. I put in as much effort as ever and drive at a level that I can be happy with. I understand that some people are not happy, but that's not my problem," he added.

Mercedes boss, Ross Brawn meanwhile has rubbished talk Schumacher is having second thoughts.

"I have known Michael a long time. You would think I'd know if he were about to chuck it in. It has probably been harder to come back than Michael imagined. He is not 24 any more and he is up against younger, ambitious drivers keen to make their mark on the sport. But his problem has not been them as much as the car. It has not been good enough."

"It is also the case that he is not looking at F1 in the same way he did when we first worked together. He is more interested in the whole Mercedes project. He takes a greater interest in the wider aspects of what we are trying to do and is not simply concerned with what happens on the track. He is enjoying his return more than people think," Brawn concluded.

Source: Yahoo Eurosport