Former Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher criticizes Lewis Hamilton for his behavior on the radio and sees the first cracks in the Ferrari facade
Lewis Hamilton’s snarky radio messages at the 2025 Miami Grand Prix are causing a stir in Formula 1. Former race car driver Ralf Schumacher is annoyed: “Mimimi Hamilton — I found that a bit difficult, I’ll be honest. That was kind of out of line,” Schumacher said on the Sky podcast ‘Backstage Boxengasse’ with Peter Hardenacke.
Schumacher believes Hamilton behaved incorrectly in that moment. ”If you really want to pass, that’s one thing. Lewis was also faster at that point.”
“But then I’d give it back without a fight and afterwards I wouldn’t act as if I meant it sarcastically, but just say: ‘Hey, I’m sorry. That shouldn’t have happened with my experience and my age. I could have reacted a little smarter.’ I think that would have been better for him.”
The impression Hamilton left behind
But the scene leaves a bitter aftertaste, says Schumacher: “Lewis is, of course, so successful, so independent, that you have to tread very carefully, but what he can’t brush away is that people have now got to know him a little bit internally.”
“That lightheartedness and ‘we’re a great team’ attitude is naturally going to be damaged by something like this, there’s no question about it. And that will stick.”
But Hamilton has to ‘know for himself’ how to express himself publicly and deal with the situation afterwards, Schumacher believes. ‘You just have to show class in the race and say, ’Okay, emotions got the better of me – it shouldn’t have happened and I’m sorry’. Yes, then it would have been over.”
But now Hamilton’s radio messages are still up in the air. That’s why Schumacher thinks: “There’s a need for clarification now. This will definitely be discussed, also internally, how to deal with it in the future.”
Ralf Schumacher: Hamilton should “keep the ball lower”
In particular, Hamilton’s comment about whether he should now also let Williams driver Carlos Sainz pass him “didn’t really fit with his performance at the moment,” says Schumacher. “No matter how many times he’s been world champion, he was closer to Charles Leclerc, but I think he should keep the ball a little lower at the moment.”
It will therefore be exciting to see how the situation around Hamilton at Ferrari develops – also from a technical point of view. Because currently, the traditional Formula 1 team is not at the top.
“I expect the pressure to be very, very high, and in Imola, Ferrari is always a bit faster than elsewhere,” says Schumacher. ‘And of course, we hope that the update will work, because I think someone like Fred Vasseur is under a lot of pressure to make it work.’
