Prost: Schumacher will Retire this Year

With Ferrari's current struggles prompting speculation that Schumacher's enthusiasm for the sport may get dampened pretty quickly, Prost actually believes the German will retire later this year irrespective of his results on the track.

"I assume that Michael will stop after this season," said Prost in an interview with Sport Bild. "That is independent of whether he defends the title or not.

"Even if Michael always stresses how much fun racing is for him, this opinion can change very fast. With Mika Hakkinen it was exactly the same - that his desire had suddenly passed."

Schumacher has always laughed off previous speculation that he plans to retire imminently and Ferrari sporting director Jean Todt recently revealed that talks had begun with the German about extending his current deal, which expires at the end of 2006.