Ralf Schumacher Slams Lewis Hamilton’s ‘Me Me Me’ Mentality Amid Ferrari Struggles
Ralf Schumacher did not hold back from calling Lewis Hamilton selfish over the Miami GP radio fiasco.
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Lewis Hamilton (via Ferrari), Ralf Schumacher (via IMAGO)
Lewis Hamilton made his dream move to Scuderia Ferrari this year. The seven-time world champion had high ambitions for the latest chapter in his career. However, things have virtually been nothing short of a disaster for the F1 star. Fans are shocked to see Hamilton struggle to adapt to the Italian team even after six races. Now, former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher has hit out at the Briton’s selfish approach.
The seven-time world champion has failed to get the most out of the SF25 so far this season. Lewis Hamilton has found it difficult to get accustomed to Ferrari’s car switches. Moreover, at the Miami GP, the 40-year-old lashed out on the team on the radio for a late decision over team orders. This created tensions between the team. With many critics commenting on the entire fiasco.
Ralf Schumacher, recently gave the Briton a peculiar nickname, ‘Mimimi Hamilton.’ Though, the German clarified that what he was actually referring to was ‘Me me me Hamilton.’ Schumacher thus pointed out that Lewis Hamilton was being rather selfish with his approach within the team, with the Miami radio outburst being the perfect example.
“Technically, you could call him that, but I actually meant ‘me me me Hamilton’, not ‘mimimi Hamilton.’ So what I meant was that he has a ‘me, me, me’ mentality towards his team, but well, mimimi was also fun.”
Ralf Schumacher said on Backstage Boxengasse podcast
During the race, Hamilton grew impatient as Ferrari delayed the call to let him go past Charles Leclerc. The 40-year-old even took sarcastic digs over this delay. Certainly, this was not a pleasant sight to witness for Ferrari. Ultimately, he was allowed through, but failed to make any places and gave the position back to Leclerc by the end of the race.
Lewis Hamilton needs to take criticism
The British driver is undoubtedly one of the best drivers in F1 history. However, the past few seasons have been extremely tough for Hamilton. Ever since the start of the ground-effect era, the 40-year-old has lost his prime. This was supposed to change by his move to Ferrari, but unfortunately that has not been the case. Now, Schumacher has pointed at another aspect the F1 star needs to learn.
Lewis Hamilton is not someone who is fond of criticism. The British driver does not let negative comments affect him, but usually does not like to be open to such remarks in the first place. After winning the sprint race in China, Hamilton had called out critics as well.
Though, Ralf Schumacher asserted that it is important for a driver like Lewis Hamilton to be open to criticism, particularly in situations like Miami, where the team was simply trying to make the best decision possible. Yet, Hamilton was being quite selfish on the radio.
“You also have to be able to live with getting criticism sometimes. We’re talking about team play, then it’s normal that you let your faster teammate through. The reverse can also happen, because if you’re not faster, you just have to give back the position. And in that, I found Hamilton’s ‘me, me, me’ mentality quite strong,—also loudly expressing himself to his team over the team radio.”
Ralf Schumacher explained
Certainly, Lewis Hamilton’s approach in Miami was not right. The seven-time world champion must take a look at the entire incident and understand his mistake. It is likely that the Briton will not repeat such a similar situation in the near future. It is impossible to say how drivers react on team radio when they’re racing at over two hundred miles an hour. Though, Hamilton has immense experience and would likely avoid this in the future.
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