Michael Schumacher says he is happy he has made Formula 1 tires a talking point after criticizing them for having too big an effect.
The German has been sharply critical of Pirelli's rubber, saying it was impossible for drivers to be flat-out during races, instead having to be careful not to damage the tires too much. Pirelli responded to Schumacher by saying it was providing the tires it was asked for.
Ahead of this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, Schumacher said that he was happy a debate had been open, as he still reckons the tires have too big an effect on racing.
"Obviously, we have touched on something that you guys [media] have kept on talking about – and that is the principle of how Formula 1 should be," said Schumacher. "And I am quite happy that we have initiated a discussion on how much influence one or another part should have in F1.
"I stated myself and I felt one part has too much and it should be a bit more equalized for everybody and the majority, rather than a smaller minority."
Schumacher denied, however, that his comments came as a result of him being frustrated for not having managed to extract the best from the tires.
"It is certainly nothing to do with me being frustrated, because I haven't really been frustrated," he said. "I started 22nd and finished 10th [in Bahrain], which I think was a positive result and all the rest that happened before was out of my control.
"It is not to do with me, it is a general discussion that I wanted to start to happen and it is not only up to me to decide what is the direction that we have to go, but certainly I am very happy to develop things together with our partners and Pirelli being an important partner."