“Michael Schumacher retired too soon, could’ve won 2014 title if he was active”

The Formula 1 legend came out of a three-year retirement to spend his final three seasons with Mercedes, where he laid the groundwork for the team’s future successes.

But after retiring in 2012, he suffered a skiing accident which left him in a coma. Michael Schumacher now remains out of the public eye, with his family at home in Switzerland.

“It's becoming increasingly clear to me that he may have hung up his helmet too early,” Brawn told Auto Bild. 

“He planted the seeds of success at Mercedes between 2010 and 2012. 

“And Fernando Alonso, at a similar age to Michael back then, shows today that you can achieve world-class performance even when you're over 40. 

“If Michael had still been active in 2014, he could have won the title.”

Brawn was a crucial part of Schumacher’s heyday at Ferrari, where he won five championships in a row.

They reunited at Mercedes in 2010 to relaunch the team which would later help Lewis Hamilton to match Schumacher’s record tally of seven titles.

Brawn believes that, if Schumacher did not suffer his life-changing injuries, he would still be a major force in the F1 paddock but it a different capacity.

“I can well imagine that Michael would have a team today,” Brawn said. 

“There were already discussions at Mercedes about whether he could act as a shareholder at some point. 

“The first stage already existed: He acted as a brand ambassador in 2013.”