Critics ‘paid to open mouths’ – Schumacher
Television pundits Niki Lauda, the triple world champion, and former team owner and boss Eddie Jordan, recently derided 42-year-old German Schumacher's performance so far in his return to formula one.
"Of course I would prefer not to have to deal with it and that some people would keep their mouths shut," the Mercedes driver told FAZ newspaper.
"On the other hand, I know that these people are paid to have their mouths open. But if everyone who is driving on my level had to quit, there would not be many left."
Schumacher has committed to completing the third year of his current contract in 2012, whilst admitting that he expected to be further up the grid by now.
"This team (as Brawn) was the 2009 champion and then became Mercedes, so naturally one thinks you might be further ahead.
"The fact that it has turned out differently was not possible to predict from the outside," he added.