Michael Schumacher insists the blame for his poor final season in Formula One lies firmly at his feet.
Schumacher is a lowly 14th in the world championship with only 43 points heading into the final four races of his career, having confirmed last month that he will be retiring for good after the Brazilian Grand Prix in November.
Mercedes boss Dieter Zetsche previously blamed his struggles on their under-performing car but Schumacher is of a different opinion.
"As racing drivers, we are independent of the cars," Schumacher said in an interview with Die Welt.
"The fact things didn't go as well for me as planned is my fault, not that of the team.
"What is important though is to be able to look in the mirror and be able to say that I gave all I had. And I can do that.
"I can leave Formula One with my head held high. My mission is over, so I can go back to the happy period of my life which I enjoyed during my first retirement."
