Michael Schumacher has advised his younger brother Ralf to resist offers to rescue his embattled motor racing career in Germany's premier touring car category, DTM.

It was recently reported that 32-year-old Ralf, who lost his Toyota seat at the end of last season and performed poorly in a subsequent test for Formula One backmarker Force India, may have received contact from DTM teams about joining the series next year.

But seven time world champion Michael Schumacher, who happily retired in 2006 as F1's most successful ever driver, and now an occasional tester for Ferrari, doubts that DTM would be a good alternative for his brother.

"I would not recommend him to go to DTM," the 39-year-old told Bild newspaper at the Ferrari-Ducati global media event in the Italian Dolomites last week.

"I believe that neither of us have the talent to drive those cars quickly - I have even tried them (the cars) and it is a completely different world.

"You would need two years to get used to it," he added.

Michael Schumacher, meanwhile, said he was surprised when his brother left Toyota and could not find a competitive alternative in F1 for 2008.

"I was surprised," he admitted. "I did not expect that.

"But as I have already said, there are many other interesting things with which he can now do with his life," Schumacher added.