The seven time world champion Michael Schumacher has said that he is extremely confident that Lewis Hamilton will be able to enjoy a long-term future at Mercedes. The British driver recently made the move to Mercedes after more than 14 years with McLaren. He has replaced the seven time world champion Michael Schumacher, who has retired from the sport for the second time. Despite being one of the best drivers in the world, Schumacher struggled during his three years at Mercedes. The 41-year-old German recently said that it has been extremely difficult to compete with the likes of Ferrari and Red Bull considering the budget of the German team.
Hamilton has signed a three-year contract with Mercedes that will also see him become the highest-paid driver within the paddock. Since returning to the sport three years ago, Mercedes have been able to taste just one victory. Hamilton, on the other hand is a driver who is looking to win world championship titles. Hence, many have doubted the feasibility of this partnership working out, but Schumacher is not one among them. Hamilton will be partnering his long-time friend Rosberg at Mercedes. Even though the team will be focusing on the 2014 line-up of cars, Schumacher is confident that 2013 can be a successful season for Mercedes.
“In the first two years we definitely did not have the capability to fight on several fronts. If there were problems we had to take care of them so the development process was interrupted. Only now is there a structure that enables both. It’s a strong structure for 2013 and beyond. The car we had last year was built under the old conditions. I’m talking about quantity, not quality. That has always been the reason why development stagnated,” said Schumacher. Mercedes recently revamped the aerodynamic department in the hope of achieving success this season.