Pickering, who retired in 2005, says that there will be some "erratic" results in the Hungarian capital compared to the 19 medals won by Britain's athletes - but only because the focus for some will be on October's Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
Pickering, who retired in 2005, said: "Over the past few Commonwealth Games when it has clashed with the Europeans, the Commonwealths have always been the priority. "It does give a little bit of a dilemma for the athletes heading into Budapest and whether or not whether or not they could potentially peak at both.
"But I am sure they will be inspired by what happened in Barcelona." Pickering became Britain's first to win a world title when she won gold in the 200m freestyle at the 1993 Short Course World Championships. The former Commonwealth champion, who will be commentating in the Hungarian capital, admits that each event will hard to assess due to individuals on different training patterns.
"The younger athletes don't have that much of a problem with the recovery period after a major championships," Pickering said. "Whereas the distance swimmers have a longer taper period so it becomes more difficult for them.
"The younger ones up to the 200m mark should be swimming fast at both so you are going to see a team that is not all 100 per cent on the right page in all the areas. "Results may be erratic but it should be a case of not saying 'this is how Britain is doing at swimming' but looking individual cases and where they are in terms of training."
With only two places on offer at the London 2012 Olympics, the eagerly anticipated 400m women's freestyle - which includes British duo Rebecca Adlington and Jo Jackson - will see the British "staking their claim" for Delhi and beyond, according to Pickering.
"They will want to be getting one over each other ahead of Delhi. It is all about racing and [Federica] Pellegrini will be gunning for gold. "You also have to take into account that for all the other Europeans this is their biggest meet of the year. There will be no let-up."