Schumi ready for F1 title fight

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Berlin - Seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher warned Monday he is ready to fight for success when he returns to F1 with Mercedes GP this weekend.

The 41-year-old signed a three-year deal with the German outfit before Christmas and is looking forward to bidding for his eighth world drivers' championship title starting with Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix.

"Absolutely, yes," Schumacher wrote on his website when asked if he was ready to fight for the title.

"This is what I am here for, and I am confident we can play a role in this fight.

"If we win it at the end will be a different question, as always in sports.

"But our entire team is extremely motivated, as am I."

Mercedes took over Brawn GP last year and with current world champion Jenson Button switching to McLaren, Schumacher will race alongside team-mate Nico Rosberg.

He will be reunited with Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn, who oversaw all seven of his world titles at Benetton and Ferrari, and Schumacher is hoping the Mercedes Silver Arrow car will be his key to another global crown.

"The guys have won both titles last year, and now, with Mercedes Power on board, they want to repeat this success," said Schumacher who retired in 2006.

"We all want to win."

"The season will be long and hard, no doubt about that, but I love this fight - it is because of this fight that I came back to Formula One."

However, he played down expectations of immediate success, saying: "I said it quite clear from the beginning: we do not have to - and probably will not - be in the position to win right from the start."