Michael Schumacher enjoying competitiveness of 2012 Formula 1 field

The early races have provided plenty of shocks already this year, with smaller teams able to upset the usual frontrunners on several occasions.

And the seven-time world champion believes that is a good thing for the sport.

"I think it is very exciting," he said of the competitiveness of the midfield teams. "If you don't manage to get everything right you are stuck behind people and you can't get through, which can be frustrating.

"That does make it exciting. It's fun if you see the side we had in Shanghai [where Mercedes ran at the front], not the side we had in Malaysia [where it struggled with tyres].

"Not hitting it spot on means you can be first or 10th. Take Sebastian [Vettel] in China, out in Q2. This is what we have to live with."

Schumacher believes that puts increased pressure on teams to deliver, but he does not expect it to be easy for a team to achieve its maximum every race.

"Everything is so tight," he said. "If you imagine every race weekend we start with a puzzle with a thousand pieces, and you have to put them together in the best way.

"It is possible to get the puzzle together, maybe not always spot on. But then it is a question of each track with its different characters. Will your car fit with these? This is another point as well as getting it right or wrong.

"We have to see. Bahrain will be very different [to China], very hot temperatures, which is to be expected. But what does that mean [for the competitive order]?"