Lewis Hamilton finished the Formula 1 race in Miami in sixth place, also because of his poor starting position in qualifying. The Mercedes driver was not only at a disadvantage in the internal duel against George Russell, he also lost sight of third-placed Fernando Alonso in the drivers’ standings. Ex-driver Ralf Schumacher thinks he knows how the seven-time world champion is doing at the moment.
“Lewis Hamilton is currently extremely seething,” suspects Ralf Schumacher in his “Sky” column: “He’s not used to not winning. He wants attention, you can always see that in his outfits.”
Landing behind his teammate George Russell in Miami was “the maximum penalty” for the 38-year-old, according to the 180-times Formula 1 entrant.
Hamilton had to follow a stable order in the USA when he was told by radio shortly after half of the race that his compatriot was using a different strategy and was therefore driving faster.
Schumacher expects a “significant increase” at Mercedes
“He can overtake, but I don’t do it slowly,” Hamilton initially radioed, but then let Russell pass him a lap later. “Of course I’m a team player and I want the team to get the maximum number of points,” explained the top star politely after the race. The instruction ultimately enabled Mercedes to take fourth and sixth place.
Ralf Schumacher now expects updates from Mercedes for the upcoming races in Europe. “I’m expecting a significant increase, otherwise they have a real problem,” said the six-time Grand Prix winner. “Then it’s not just about the concept, but also about internal problems with wrong goals and wrong standards that have been set. But I don’t assume that with the experience that Mercedes has.”
The first Formula 1 stop in Europe is the Imola Grand Prix (May 21), followed by Monaco (May 28) and Spain (June 4).