Brawn praises 'old man' Schumacher

Schumacher's troubled start to the campaign, especially his crash in the Australian Grand Prix, prompted talk that at 37 the seven-time world champion may no longer be at his prime.

But after his victories at Imola and the Nurburgring, Brawn is adamant that Schumacher remains as good as he ever was.

"He didn't look too bad today, did he? For an old man he was alright," said Brawn after Sunday's victory in the European Grand Prix.

"It was another great performance from Michael. But it was of a different type. Imola was a very defensive race and with problems he managed to win. And here we had the ingredients to attack and he did that as well.

"He's not on the downward slope yet - we know that for sure."

Brawn admitted that the outcome of Sunday's race was far from certain - and that the race was effectively won by Fernando Alonso stopping earlier than them at the first round of pitstops.

"It was a very tight race and we knew it would be. It was a big relief to see Alonso in the pits because if he had gone longer than us, I don't know what we would have done. We were relieved.

"Then we put our plan into place and we stayed out three laps more. It was crucial that Michael stayed with him, and then the laps he did in those three laps (Schumacher stayed out) were stunning and the pitstops were fantastic.

"I don't think Alonso got clean laps, he had used tyres for the last stint so it all came together very well. But it was a very tight race."

But despite hailing Schumacher's continued abilities, Brawn knows that there is no guarantee the German will continue with Ferrari next year. He is due to decide on whether he wants to remain in F1 within the next few months.

"We were happy with the drivers today, but we know there will be a decision made by Michael in the middle of the year and we'll see what happens."