Red Bull driver, and sometime 'new Michael Schumacher' Sebastian Vettel has said that though all the current media attention in F1 is focused on the return of the seven-time champion, that will change once the season gets underway in March.
Vettel said that seeing Schumacher come back to F1 was "good", but also said that the current level of coverage will die down as the novelty of the move will wear off.
"His return is good for F1," Vettel said in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, "Now this is obviously the main point of conversation, and the entire world is talking about it. But I think that once the engines start again and the season begins, there will certainly be more important things to focus on."
Vettel and Schumacher have built up a close friendship, with the pair of them competing for Germany in the Race of Champions for the last three seasons, securing a hat-trick of Nations Cup titles in the process, but Vettel admitted that the news of Schumacher's return was as much of a surprise to him as to everyone else.
"No one seriously believed that [he would come back]," Vettel said. "A few weeks ago we were together in Kerpen to race karts, and I teased him a bit, but he really didn't want to say anything. Last summer, when his return was ruled out because of his neck problems, it looked all over."
He added that the strains of racing in F1 will not be an issue for Schumacher, despite his advancing age, with Vettel saying that his fellow German's fitness routines were easily enough to compensate for his time out of the cockpit.
"From this point of view it certainly won't be easy for him," Vettel said when asked about Schumacher's age. The seven-time champion will be 41 by the time the season starts in March.
"But if you look at him, he really is still in great shape. He's always been active. Naturally a lot will depend on the car's performance. Let's wait at least until the Bahrain GP to understand what will happen."
Vettel added that the intra-Mercedes scrap between Schumacher and Nico Rosberg will be "interesting", saying that the age gap between the two might have an effect, but adding that: "Schumi brings a lot of experience, which the team will be able to take advantage of hugely."
Meanwhile, if Vettel was worried that his stock as the unofficial top German in F1 was under threat, he at least has the backing of one of F1's power men, with Bernie Ecclestone recently backing Vettel for the 2010 championship, despite apparently backing Schumacher for it after he announced his comeback.
When asked for his tip for the 2010 title by the German Bild newspaper, Ecclestone said: "There are several - [Lewis] Hamilton, [Fernando] Alonso... But I will say this now: Vettel will be the next world champion."
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