Michael Schumacher believes he can shrug off the bitter disappointment of his comeback season and take a shock eighth world title this year at the wheel of his Mercedes.

The 42-year-old failed to reach the podium in 19 races in 2010 and was completely outshone by Nico Rosberg who finished the campaign 70 points ahead of the German veteran.

But there were signs of progress towards the end of 2010 and Schumacher's confidence has been boosted by team principal Ross Brawn overseeing an improved technical package.

Asked if he expected to be world champion at the end of the longest campaign in F1 history with 20 races, Schumacher told F1 Racing magazine: "Absolutely.

"We have a three-year project. Very clearly right now, we are not where we want to be. We've put a lot of effort into coming back and are optimistic we have a chance.

"But in the history of Formula One, when does it ever happen that you come back straightaway from this level to win in just one year? Very rarely.

"So I'm sure we can fight for wins this year and we might be able to fight for the championship. I hope so.

"I'm here on a mission and I want to succeed. I want to perform and I'm going to put 100 percent into it. And if that's not the case in 2011, then we will have to do it in the final year."

Schumacher will be back on track in Valencia for the first of the four pre-season tests from February 1 ahead of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on March 13.