Merc should have kept Schu, not Rosberg - Villeneuve

Jacques Villeneuve says he does not think Mercedes has made the right choice in pairing Lewis Hamilton with Nico Rosberg next year.

The 1997 world champion does not, however, question the German marque’s decision to poach Hamilton from McLaren.

Instead, Villeneuve wonders about his former title nemesis Michael Schumacher’s exit.

"Why is he stopping?" the 41-year-old told Switzerland’s Motorsport Aktuell.

"I don’t understand. Hamilton-Schumacher would be much better than what they do have for next year," the outspoken Villeneuve insisted.

But German Rosberg insists he is "very happy" with how he has compared against the great Schumacher since 2010, even though the pairing have been more closely matched this season.

"It’s true that Michael has had bad luck, but so have I," Rosberg told Germany’s Auto Bild.

And in their qualifying head-to-head in 2012, Schumacher and Rosberg have been very evenly matched.

"As far as qualifying is concerned, there is nothing special to say about it," Rosberg insisted.

"For three years I have had the upper hand, which is more than I had expected at the beginning. I am very happy with it," he added.