F1: Schumacher Aiming For Good Finish From 13th

Formula 1

F1: Schumacher Aiming For Good Finish From 13th

Michael Schumacher wants his final Formula One race to be a positive one...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted November 24, 2012 Sao Paulo (BRA)

Michael Schumacher won seven World Championships but none with Mercedes. (Photo: Getty Images)

Michael Schumacher will start his final Grand Prix in Brazil from an unlucky 13th place, having gained a place from his original position thanks to Pastor Maldonado’s penalty.

The former champion is determined to go out on a high, and says that a move toward a wet setup handicapped him in qualifying but will help him in Sunday’s rain – although most top drivers say that there’s not much that can be done these days to tune a car for the wet.

“It was obviously not very exciting, quite honestly,” he said when asked about his day by SPEED.com. “Yesterday looked pretty reasonable. Today we didn’t look that strong in comparison to what we were able to do yesterday.

“Obviously, I was focusing a little bit more towards tomorrow. On top of this one, I didn’t get the tires spot-on for their use, so as a combination we ended up where we did. Nevertheless, I don’t think we had a great potential for qualifying, but we probably have a reasonable car for tomorrow.”

As to whether getting to the finish would be a priority, he said: “It’s not important climbing out of the car at the end of the race. It’s important what position I might do so, and obviously the better, the more exciting it will be.

“From where I come I feel a little bit off-set, so there’s going to be some excitement, particularly in the conditions that we face tomorrow. I very much look forward to this, because that offers lots more opportunities.”

Adam Cooper notched up his 27th season as a racing journalist in 2011. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.

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