Wednesday 3 February at 08:31 : Feb.3 (GMM) Michael Schumacher said he has no hard feelings after comments made by Flavio Briatore.

Schumacher's former Benetton boss Briatore, exiled from F1 in the wake of the crashgate race-fixing scandal, said this week that the seven time world champion's return to the sport in 2010 could turn into "a disaster".

"You don't race faster if you colour your hair," the 59-year-old Italian quipped, likening Schumacher's switch from Ferrari to Mercedes as an egocentric and "inelegant betrayal".

"I personally have no problems at all with Flavio," Schumacher, 41, responded on Tuesday at the Valencia test.

"I know him very well, I know his strengths and his weaknesses," the German told Bild newspaper.

Referring to crashgate, Schumacher acknowledged that Briatore "certainly exceeded the borders".

"But I think we all make mistakes," he added. "If he learns from it, I would have no problem if he came back. Flavio is simply an unique personality."