Michael Schumacher

Your ups and downs in sports, I think they are as normal as daily life: One day you wake up and feel great, the next day you wake up and feel maybe less great.

My kids are not known, and I think that is very important. So far they have lived a normal life, and will continue to do so. I feel they should have the possibility to live a free life without the burden of fame I have created.

I have what you might call the South Pole and the North Pole. I have my team and my work, which I do on one side, and I have my family and my home on the other side. Both have nothing really to do with each other.

When you are part of a community for 14 years, it inevitably shapes you. I will always have a part of Ferrari beside me; a part of my heart will always be red.

You arrive at Formula One being very skeptical, how far can your talent deal with all this, and then you understand those guys are human and pretty reasonable, and finally succeeding in winning your first race, in circumstance as such, it was just an amazing moment.

I retired simply because I didn't have the passion and motivation anymore; I was tired. At the time I thought, 'Well, I had a great time, there is the end.' At some moment, there is the right time to call it an end.

My time with Ferrari was wonderful. I have found friends and had experiences that I would not want to be without.

I have really enjoyed my time at Ferrari, not just because of the successes.

In sport there is never any moment that is the same as the other. I have been in Formula One for 12 years, and out of that I had one year with the perfect car.

Those who have come into Formula One without experiencing cars devoid of electronic aids will find it tough. To control 800 horse power relying just on arm muscles and foot sensitivity can turn out to be a dangerous exercise.

You win a race, the next race it's a question mark. Are you still the best or not? That's what is funny. But that's what is interesting. And that's what is challenging. You have to prove yourself every time.

Nascar will certainly not be one of my challenges in the future.