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Sauber expects tough year for Ferrari

Former team boss Peter Sauber believes Ferrari will endure a difficult season now that Michael Schumacher has retired from the sport

Seven-time champion Schumacher retired at the end of last season after 11 years at Ferrari, and the German will be replaced by Finn Kimi Raikkonen as the Italian squad aim to return to championship glory.

But Sauber, who made Raikkonen debut in Formula One when he signed him in 2001, believes the Finn has not enough interest in the technical details to be able to fill Schumacher's spot.

And the Swiss expects Ferrari to miss the German drivers' work.

"I think after Michael it will be a difficult year for Ferrari because he was excellent driver, not only fast but also on the technical side," said Sauber during the launch of BMW's new car at Valencia.

"On the other hand I am sure Jean Todt knows exactly how good Kimi is, and he knows where Kimi has his strong sides and also his weak sides, and Jean Todt many years ago was a big fan of Kimi but he knows the weak sides of Kimi especially on the technical side.

"Kimi is not so interested in the technical side of things and today that is a very important point to develop the car," added Sauber, who believes Felipe Massa, who also made his F1 debut with his team, will help Raikkonen this season.

"He has a good support from Felipe. Felipe made a big step forward the last year alongside Michael."

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