Tuesday 15 July at 10:48 : Nearly two years after announcing his retirement as a formula one driver, Michael Schumacher has cited his former teammate Felipe Massa as a primary reason for hanging up his racing helmet.

"I stopped because I didn't want my friend Felipe Massa to be unemployed," the Swiss newspaper Blick quotes the seven time world champion as saying.

"I would have had no problem going up against Kimi Raikkonen," German Schumacher, 39, adds, refuting the common claim that he objected to having the Finn as his 2007 teammate.

Massa and Raikkonen, currently equal on points along with Lewis Hamilton in the 2008 championship standings, make up Ferrari's current race lineup.