Tuesday 16 March at 10:01 : Mar.16 (GMM) The German press has hit back after its Italian colleagues were scathing of Michael Schumacher's comeback performance in Bahrain.

After the former Ferrari driver finished sixth behind his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, the Genoa-based Il Secolo XIX newspaper crowned him the "world champion of arrogance".

La Gazzetta dello Sport joked that the German failed to turn up in the island Kingdom, and Corriere della Sera said the anonymous performance had been a "strange Sunday afternoon for Herr Michael".

"With all respect for Schumacher, the 41-year-old living legend, Ferrari made the right choice with the 28-year-old Alonso," Corriere della Sera added.

La Gazzetta dello Sport praised Alonso for cutting "the umbilical cord that tied Ferrari to the Schumacher era".

The widely circulated German daily Bild Zeitung hit back: "Just as there are bad losers, it is also possible to be a bad winner".

The newspaper pointed out that the Italians failed to mention that its "double victory" only took place due to "Vettel's technical problems".

And the German weekly Sport Bild added: "Does Schumacher really deserve this (criticism)?"

Rome-based Corriere dello Sport said: "There was no disgrace (in Schumacher's performance), but he doesn't deserve much praise, either."