“Lewis can’t do that. He’s never been able to do that” : Michael Schumacher’s brother Ralf places heavy criticism over Lewis Hamilton
After an almost fairytale ending with the Mercedes brand, Lewis Hamilton sets his sight on dawning the red uniform next year and potentially having one last chance of breaking the record for the number of world championships. He is currently tied with former Ferrari and F1 icon Michael Schumacher. Due to this tie, the debate of who the actual ‘GOAT’ is may be never ending, so the Briton being crowned world champion once again will go a long way.
But Ralf Schumacher, Michael’s brother, believes there never has been any debate as it is understandable who he thinks is the greatest. But Ralf has also so far gone and said that Lewis Hamilton has never been able to develop a car as well as his brother and made the technicians’ lives easier along the way.
He also suggested that apart from the engineers, the Silver Arrows CEO Toto Wolff has also prompted time and again about a driver and the engineers working hand-in-hand to further develop any car, something which the German team has lacked.
“The biggest difference is that Michael, among many other qualities, was able to develop a car perfectly for his driving style together with the engineers. Lewis can’t do that. He’s never been able to do that, if you listen carefully to what the Mecedes technicians say. Toto Wolff [Mercedes boss] has emphasised more than once that a driver should step on the gas and the engineers should develop.” Ralf said to Sport1.de.
“But he also said that because his drivers were apparently incapable of giving the right input. Michael was completely different. He always gave his confidants like Ross Brawn or Jean Todt the direction.” the 49-year-old added.
Lewis Hamilton has largely been *the* driver for Mercedes ever since Nico Rosberg’s departure in 2016, but that may not be the case now because of another top star’s presence in Ferrari in the form of Charles Leclerc. As Carlos Sainz said, the Monaco-based driver has been the cornerstone of the Italian team’s big project ever since his initial debut, and fans have already claimed him as a future world champion.
Even for someone like Lewis Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, it will be difficult to break in and automatically become the top guy from the start. Ralf Schumacher understands this as he reiterated his feelings.
“That makes things even more difficult for Lewis: because Charles Leclerc is the top dog. Everyone in the team knows him. For Lewis, everything is new at Ferrari. What’s more, Michael came to Ferrari as the current world champion and was much younger. That’s not the case with Lewis.” Schumacher continued.
Ralf Schumacher was not finished yet, as he also said that he does not count the Briton as great of a world champion as others on the list, including the reigning champion Max Verstappen. He believes Hamilton requires the perfect environment and team to reach the top, similar to Sebastian Vettel, while drivers like the Dutchman can function exceptionally even when the odds are not in their favour.
“He simply makes the difference. Max Verstappen is really capable of giving that little bit extra that those exceptional world champions before him already have. There are not many of them, and I honestly don’t count Lewis Hamilton among that list. Hamilton is certainly exceptional, but also needs a bit of the perfect environment and car, just like Sebastian Vettel. But Max Verstappen, what he has achieved this year in these circumstances – problems with Christian Horner, the departure of Adrian Newey.”
Even before his debut for Ferrari, it seems like the Briton has a lot of people to silence already, and knowing him, it will just work in as extra motivation ahead of his much-awaited and important first year with the Italian team.
