Schumacher stirred by title fight

Schumacher had hoped to be fighting for the championship himself on his Formula 1 return this year, but Mercedes GP failed to deliver a car that was capable of taking on Red Bull Racing, McLaren and Ferrari.

Speaking ahead of the season finale, Schumacher said he was intrigued about how events would pan out - and even suggested that it would not necessarily be unfair if Vettel did not sacrifice his win.

"It depends what you see as fair or unfair," said Schumacher when asked if he thought Vettel would do the 'fair' thing. "Is it unfair to win a race in which you are clearly quicker? I'm not sure you can call it unfair.

"The main point is we will all be very excited to see what's going to happen, even from my perspective, because I don't know what's going through his [Vettel's] mind."

He added: "Whatever teams are doing they have different interpretations of how they want to deal with things. I made a very clear statement in Hockenheim, and I've no reason to change it."

Schumacher said the way F1 has delivered a four-way title battle is unprecedented - and has made even him revel in the excitement of it all.

"It is a very interesting year for all of us, from very different perspectives," he said. "A championship like this year, I don't think I've ever seen three main contenders, and mathematically four.

"There have been so many ups and down, so many unpredictable happenings, which is very unique, very interesting and very thrilling, even from my point of view, to watch the last race and see the outcome.

"For me, I can imagine what those guys are going through and how they are feeling, but everybody is focused, experienced and professional enough to handle the situation in a fair racing spirit.

"But as to who will win, I wouldn't want to bet on anybody. I'm just glad we've been able to sort out our car and put in performances I'm reasonably happy with, and I look forward to whatever comes from there on."