London, Dec. 20 (ANI): Ahead of his sensational comeback on the racing circuit, Formula One legend Michael Schumacher has been warned by his former Ferrari team-mate that the reigning F1 champion Lewis Hamilton has an edge over him.

The seven-time champ is on the verge of a sensational Formula One return with Mercedes GP four years after he retired from the sport.

While Eddie Irvine reckons the German ace, 40, can turn back the clock and win races next season, he believes that Schumacher - infamous for his ruthless track tactics during his pomp - will lift off the pedal when he goes head-to-head with younger rivals like Hamilton.

“Lewis is not going to back off and someone like Michael will have to. He will be 41 and, as you get older, you do that. The young guy will have the psychological advantage. There has never been anyone better than Michael in getting a car around a circuit as fast as possible,” News of the World quoted Irvine, who spent four years as Schumacher’s team-mate, as saying.

“But in a head-to-head with Lewis or some of the younger guys, I wouldn’t put my money on Michael as he would be mad to get really involved. On pure speed, he is probably up there with the best of them still. But I don’t believe Michael will be as fast as he was seven years ago,” he added.

“If you watch his early days when he was at Benetton and Ferrari, his speed was quite sensational. But he gradually lost a little bit of that, so he is not at the peak of his game. But he is still good enough to win races as he is such an immense talent.”

Schumacher’s comeback should be confirmed in the next few weeks.

He will be named as Jenson Button’s replacement at Mercedes, formerly known as Brawn.

Irvine reckons his old team-mate is returning to F1 because he is bored.

“He is very, very bored I think and he is definitely up for it. Michael has basically been go-karting since he was four or five, so he knows nothing else. I think when he retired he had nothing else to do. He tried motorbikes which was complete madness as he was not very good. It was more dangerous and he wasn’t getting paid, so I never understood that one. F1 makes sense,” he said. (ANI)