Abu Dhabi GP: Michael Schumacher not fearing poor end to career

After a strong beginning to the campaign, Schumacher's Mercedes team has lost ground to the opposition, and the seven-time champion has not scored any points since the Italian Grand Prix.

But with only three races remaining in F1, Schumacher says he is not disheartened over his current situation, even though there are decreasing opportunities for the seven-time champion to bow out on a high.

"There's no reason to call it frustration," he said when asked by AUTOSPORT about his feelings. "It's part of the process that we are involved in.

"Things looked pretty good at the beginning of the year. We've just sort of lost the train and didn't keep up the development. So there's no reason why we should be surprised or frustrated by what's happening, it's just a natural consequence.

"It's more important that we understand everything to fix it. That's what we're focused on now."

Team-mate Nico Rosberg thinks the most important thing for Mercedes is to try and turn the corner on its late-season situation - so it can at least feel encouraged heading into 2013.

"It's difficult to make big steps at the moment," he said. "Of course we're still pushing because everything that we learn this year is definitely going to help us next year with the rules staying very similar.

"And of course it's important to end on an upward trend again. It's always good for the winter months when everyone's working so hard."

He added: "It would be nice to try and get a bit of a positive swing to the end. I think [Abu Dhabi qualifying] was a good start to that. Being up there in Q3 and then eighth on the grid, beating a Ferrari and a Lotus, that's OK. That's going in the right direction."