Last Updated on January 2 2026, 9:08 pm

Ralf Schumacher pulls no punches: Verstappen, Hamilton and Norris, and a jab at Rosberg – The 2025 Formula 1 season was full of drama, tension and last-minute heroics, but according to Ralf Schumacher, it also revealed a lot about the drivers.

In a wide-ranging interview with SPORT1, the former F1 driver and Sky pundit weighed in on everything from Lando Norris’s championship triumph to Max Verstappen’s ‘Michael gene’, and he didn’t shy away from criticising Nico Rosberg or even Lewis Hamilton.

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Verstappen’s Evolution: The ‘Michael Gene’ Lives On

When asked about Max Verstappen narrowly missing out on his fifth consecutive title, Schumacher was refreshingly blunt, stating that he doesn’t care for comparisons to his brother, Michael. “Michael was and remains the best driver of his time,” he said. “Of course, the world moves on. New drivers come along, I didn’t care about that with Lewis Hamilton, and I don’t care about Max either.”

Yet when it comes to Verstappen, Schumacher can’t hide his admiration. He says that the Dutchman now possesses an aura reminiscent of his legendary brother, with the ability to inspire and unify a team. Ralf explained that Red Bull’s internal turmoil earlier in the year, particularly the delayed decision to part ways with Christian Horner, created chaos but ultimately strengthened the team.

“Max is someone who can extract an enormous amount of power from a car. You saw that compared to Yuki Tsunoda or Liam Lawson,” he said.

“But it was still a tremendous team effort. And that changed Max. He acquired that added quality, that aura which Michael also had. Having people who would go through fire for you is crucial. Max now has that Michael gene, too.”

With Helmut Marko’s retirement, Ralf added a dose of reality: ‘Everything in life has its time. Marko consciously chose this moment, and he deserves respect. He still had a contract — some German tabloids made a mockery of that — but he could see that Max didn’t need him anymore, and travelling constantly at over 80 years old is no mean feat.”

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McLaren’s Rollercoaster: Champions Who Almost Blew It

While Verstappen earned praise, McLaren drew a more satirical critique. Schumacher didn’t hold back when discussing the team that shocked the F1 world in 2025: Lando Norris as world champion.

“They built it up with both hands and then threw it all away with their backside,” he said, describing the team’s erratic performance. ‘One race they were a second faster; the next, only fifth or sixth.’ Exciting? Yes. Against Max? A disaster waiting to happen.”

Yet Norris’s eventual triumph earned Ralf’s admiration.

“I’m particularly pleased that someone who owns up to his weaknesses has become world champion. That took a lot out of him. We’ve often discussed his mistakes in qualifying, but he shows that you don’t have to be perfect to become world champion.”

However, he tempered the praise: “Will he ever match Max, Michael or Lewis? I don’t think so. It takes too much out of him. There are drivers for whom that doesn’t come naturally, like Nico Rosberg. He quit immediately afterwards. He said himself that he was trembling before his last race. To be quite honest, I was nervous, but I never trembled. That shows how much energy it takes.”

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A Veiled Jab at Rosberg: Still Telling Stories

Ralf Schumacher seized the opportunity to criticise Nico Rosberg, whose post-retirement commentary often revisits old battles.

“Everyone’s different,” said Ralf.

“The fact that Nico says this openly today is to his credit. But then again, I didn’t become world champion. He became world champion against a seven-time champion, that’s an achievement. Nevertheless, you can see how he operates, even today.”

“It’s always about mind games. He still talks about my brother, making up stories about alleged psychological games in restrooms or car parks. I know Michael. He was already at a completely different stage in his career. Ultimately, Nico should have pushed harder. If he’s behind a driver aged over 40 in Monaco, that says it all.”

The subtle dig wasn’t lost on anyone. Nico Rosberg, the man who retired at the peak of his career, is still held up as a yardstick for legendary status, and apparently still a source of mild amusement.

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Lewis Hamilton: Still legendary, but human

No interview with Schumacher would be complete without discussing Lewis Hamilton. While Ralf acknowledges Hamilton’s extraordinary career, he also points out the cracks that appeared in 2025.

“Yes and no,” he said when asked if this season had shaken Hamilton’s legacy. ‘Expectations were enormous. I was criticised for saying he wouldn’t be fighting for the World Championship and would need time to catch up with Leclerc. And that’s exactly how it turned out.”

Hamilton’s age and mindset were both under scrutiny. According to Ralf, the seven-time world champion struggles to adapt and has never been one to tinker with the setup — a trait dating back to his Formula 3 days. “At Mercedes, Toto Wolff always said: ‘The drivers drive, the team does the setup. You can’t change that overnight,” he noted.

Ralf suggests that a little self-reflection might do Hamilton good, but he was careful not to diminish the Briton’s record: ‘His successes speak for themselves. But I was disappointed in how he dealt with his problems. This back-and-forth, this resignation — I expect more from someone of his stature.”

Ouch.

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NEXT ARTICLE – FIA plans to reduce the power of the manufacturers

There is grave concern at the FIA over how the all new 2026 Formula One power units will perform. In a desperate bid to prevent an epic failure in the racing spectacle, F1’s governing body convened an emergency meeting with the manufacturers in Bahrain to correct the ‘over optimistic’ power output from the hybrid side of the new engines.

Concerns were first raised by Christian Horner in 2023 that the all new specification of power units would create “Frankenstein monsters” due to an over reliance on electrical output. Almost two years later the FIA’s pow wow in Bahrain sought to address this issue.

The problem is that at a number of circuits where braking is limited and the straights are long, that the cars will be incapable of generating enough electrical charge to deliver the mandated 50% of power output.

 

Concerns electrical output overstated

This would result in cars ruing out of electrical charge towards the end of the straights, visibly slowing the cars as they approached the next turn. The spectacle could be disastrous for the fans and the series would descend into farce.

Yet any reduction in the amount of electrical output had to be agreed by all but one of the PU manufacturers and such agreement could not be found. The result was both the FIA and FOM issuing statements suggesting the current F1 power cycle could be truncated and a return to V*’s introduced before even 2030.

Foiled by their attempt to introduce what would be a mere software adjustment for all the teams, the FIA issued a dictate in August which outlined how they would prevent F1 becoming a farce or dominated by a single manufacturer who has aced the new PU regulations.

FIA director of day to day operations, Nicolas Tombazis revealed: “We’ve introduced a…READ MORE ON THIS STORY