Photo by: XPB Images
It is a mistake to write off Michael Schumacher.
That is the claim of the seven time world champion's countryman Timo Glock, who drives for the back-of-the-grid Marussia team.
43-year-old Schumacher, meanwhile, is looking ahead to the third and final season of his comeback contract, having so far failed to score a single podium with the Mercedes team.
"You can't underestimate him in any way," Germany's Sky Sports News HD quotes Glock as saying.
"He is highly motivated and still someone who you always have to take into consideration."
Former driver Derek Warwick, however - the new president of the Silverstone-owning British Racing Drivers' Club - is not so sure.
He predicts the great German will be having "sleepless nights" as he looks ahead to another year of being beaten by his teammate Nico Rosberg.
"I think the Mercedes will be quick this year as they continue to develop their challenge to the big three at the front," he told the Sun.
"So can Schumacher win a race? Yes, but it will probably at the default of Rosberg, because Rosberg has now shown what a magnificent grand prix driver he is," said Warwick.
According to Glock, the obvious favourite for 2012 is Sebastian Vettel.
"What he did in the past two years was phenomenal," Glock is quoted as saying by SID news agency. "In terms of consistency, he will be hard to beat."
1980 world champion Alan Jones hopes Vettel's teammate Mark Webber can match that form.
"He probably knows that he's got to do it this year, and he's at his fittest and most determined," the Australian told Fox Sports News. "I put him down as a real dark horse to be honest."
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