In an newspaper interview yesterday Michael Schumacher firmly ruled out becoming the team manager at Ferrari or taking on a senior management position in the future, but said his role with the Scuderia is yet to be decided, and hinted that he would enjoy an input into the development of new roads cars.

With Team Manager Jean Todt actively looking find a replacement for himself at the Scuderia as he seeks to concentrate on his more recent position as Ferrari's Managing Director, many names have been speculated about to fill the position, including the now-retired Schumacher as well as the team's former Technical Director Ross Brawn who is currently taking a year's sabbatical.

After 11 years with the Ferrari team, which included 5 F1 world titles (from 2000 to 2004), Schumacher retired from the sport at the end of last year. This year has seen the German, who amassed an unbeaten 7 world titles during his outstanding career, acting as an 'advisor' to the team in a somewhat unspecified role. He has attended a number of grands prix this season and his duties have included coaching the team's Brazilian driver Felipe Massa. However Schumacher told the German daily Bild yesterday that he had no ambitions to take on the team manager's position, saying: "This was never and will never be an issue for me."

However any future role for the German within the team remains to be decided. "Ferrari and I have no clear idea yet how we will do it in the future, we are under no pressure," he told Bild. Schumacher said he is also very aware that F1 moves forward constantly, and he is now out of the loop. "My knowledge in Formula One is only valuable on a short term basis, otherwise I would have to refresh it. I see many ex-drivers who try to make comments and have a hard time doing so. Already I notice that I am a little bit out of date, and the only alternative is to always be around, and I absolutely do not want to do that."
 

Schumacher might continue to play a role within the roadcar division though. "I do want to help with the development of Ferrari's road cars. That is a lot of fun for me and I do have something to contribute." The German already has played a major role here, spearheading development of the FXX 'track day' programme, and in fact taking personal delivery of the 30th and final car for himself. He has also played a part in developing the Maranello carmaker's latest awesome road rocket, the 430 Scuderia, which was officially previewed yesterday. The 430 Scuderia is the very latest stage of Ferrari's on-going transfer of F1 technology to road applications and is a lightweight street-legal version, based on the 430 Challenge Stradale racer. In fact proving that Michael Schumacher's name is a huge draw it was also announced yesterday that he would unveil the 430 Scuderia personally on the occasion of its world première at the Frankfurt IAA in September.

The 38-year-old also told Bild that there would be no return to the cockpit and that he had chosen the right time to walk away from F1. "Fortunately I found the right time to stop," he said. "I considered my decision for a long time but I got it right." Schumacher made his F1 debut in 1991 with the Jordan team. Family and other commitments ruled out him taking up a full-time position with the Scuderia. Schumacher is also a special ambassador for UNESCO, a supporter of a number of charity initiatives, a campaigner for road safety, took a voiceover role in the recent Pixar film Cars, and is reported to have a small part in the forthcoming Hollywood film, due in January 2008, Asterix at the Olympic Games. "I simply feel free," he added.