Ralf Schumacher Slams Lewis Hamilton for Pushing Ferrari into a ‘Corner’ over Intense Scrutiny

Ralf Schumacher fired shots at Lewis Hamilton and his intense critical behavior against Ferrari in the recent race weekends.

Ralf Schumacher Slams Lewis Hamilton for Pushing Ferrari into a ‘Corner’ over Intense Scrutiny

Lewis Hamilton (via Ferrari), Ralf Schumacher (via IMAGO)

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Lewis Hamilton‘s time at Ferrari in his debut year has remained insignificant. Hamilton failed to achieve even a podium finish with the Italian squad in the first 14 races. To fix the incessant issues at Maranello, the Briton had reportedly sent documents to the team apart from visiting the factory. However, the 40-year-old kept berating the team’s pace over the races. Now, ex-F1 driver Ralf Schumacher has fired shots at the seven-time champion and blamed him for pushing the team into a ‘corner’.

Lewis Hamilton had remained vocal about the unexpected issues he has faced with Ferrari this year. The most recent Hungarian GP seemed to be the breaking point for Hamilton, as he was extremely self-deprecating. Still, the Briton is ready to build himself from the ground up at the Italian constructor and emerge as a winning force as early as the 2026 season.

Still, Ralf Schumacher wasn’t mincing his words while criticizing Lewis Hamilton and his actions at Ferrari this year. The German recalled his comments at the beginning of the year, before Hamilton’s desperate performance slump with Maranello even began. Schumacher had claimed that things could and would go wrong for the 40-year-old amidst his bombshell move to the Scuderia.

Speaking on Lewis Hamilton and his recent critical behavior, Ralf Schumacher labeled it as ‘theatrics’ from the former. Schumacher further berated Hamilton and blamed him for criticizing the team internally and cornering them after sending the documents. The 50-year-old declared that the Briton was in conflict with the challenger and burst out for all the wrong reasons. This caused low morale within the team, and it did not help anyone.

I had said before the start of the season that things could have gone wrong. At the moment, I see a lot of theatricality on his part. He has cornered the team, criticized it internally, he is in conflict with the machine: this does not help anyone.

Ralf Schumacher told Bild

Ralf Schumacher asserts Lewis Hamilton ‘too old’ to adapt at Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton is pushing 41 years of age, and he is planning to stay with Ferrari atleast until he achieves the goal of winning his record-breaking eighth drivers’ title. Still, the once-dominant force on the F1 grid is unable to return to its winning ways at all. Charles Leclerc remains the superior driver at Maranello, leading the intra-team battle with 42 points. As such, Ralf Schumacher guessed the reasons behind Hamilton’s phenomenal fall in form.

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc (via Ferrari)
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc (via Ferrari)

Ralf Schumacher noted that the SF-25 challenger was more suited to Charles Leclerc, as he could handle the quirks of the car much better than Lewis Hamilton. Schumacher reckoned that Hamilton was maybe too old to adapt to the new-gen cars, or simply couldn’t handle the struggles. Regardless, the German believed that the decision to prioritize Leclerc over the 40-year-old had long been made.

The car is suitable for Leclerc, not for him. Maybe he’s too old to fit in, or he just can’t handle it. I think the decision for Leclerc was made a long time ago.

Ralf Schumacher noted

Ferrari still has to cover the massive grounds of improvements against the rivals, especially McLaren. Even though the team has occupied the runner-up spot in the constructors’ championship, they could lose their spot in the blink of an eye. Now, time will tell about how the coming seasons play out for Lewis Hamilton as he hopes to recover from the desperate performance slump at any cost.

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