Michael Schumacher is no worse a driver now than when he was dominating the sport in the early part of the decade, according to former team-mate Johnny Herbert.

Talking exclusively to ESPNF1, Herbert said that the reason for Schumacher's struggles in 2010 is a combination of an uncompetitive car and a better new generation of young drivers in the sport.

"He hasn't been in the best car and when he was at Ferrari it was effectively the best car," said Herbert. "This time he clearly hasn't got that but of course this time he has been outshone by his team-mate Nico Rosberg who has been maybe ninety to ninety five per cent quicker than Michael all year long, so we haven't seen the Michael of old but I think it's because we're seeing a new generation of drivers coming along.

"I think Sebastian is one of those and obviously Nico Rosberg is one of those, these new young chargers that are probably better than what Michael Schumacher was. It's just another generation jump that we're seeing at the moment.

"He's come back and he's fought hard. I personally don't think he's any worse than he was when he was dominating Formula One it's just these young guys have moved on another step or two above where he was at so it's been disappointing, he's disappointed as well but I think it sounds like he's going to be back next year but it's going to be down to Mercedes giving him the car that can actually do that. But it's not just Michael at Mercedes, it's Nico Rosberg, his team-mate, and everybody else. So it's going to be fascinating how that will turn out for him next year."