Michael Schumacher may not have delivered a title-fighting season on his return to Formula One this year, but he says he has no intention of quitting again before his 42nd birthday.

As he relaxed after finishing sixth in the Japanese Grand Prix , he reiterated his desire to fight for glory with the Mercedes team next year and expressed hope that he can maintain his form in next Sunday’s Korean Grand Prix.

The 41-year-old German, who has won the world title seven times, remains one of the star attractions in the pit lane alongside the five drivers battling it out for this year’s title and he has no intention of walking away.

“I want to do well again in Korea and I am looking forward to it,” he said.

“This break is nice for me. I will reappear fresh and relaxed again for the race in South Korea. There, hopefully, we will make another step forward, because in Japan the car ran quite well. Naturally, we want to gather as much data and information as possible to be better prepared next year.

“I have said it often: I want to build up something here together with Mercedes and I am confident that we’ll manage that as the support and the opportunities at Mercedes are really strong.

“I know that sometimes not everything comes together as planned from the technical point of view, but I have to say our link is strong enough to allow things to be criticised if they don’t run as expected.”

Schumacher’s performance in finishing sixth at Suzuka was widely seen as his best since his return to F1 and it was clear he thoroughly enjoyed himself at a circuit where he had won six times in the past.

His performance and determination to succeed have helped silence rumours of splits within the Mercedes team that are alleged to have grown as Schumacher battled to find the form that saw him finish fourth in Turkey last May.

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