Ralf Schumacher has launched a fierce criticism of Lewis Hamilton following the Ferrari driver’s public dispute with Charles Leclerc at the Mexican Grand Prix, accusing the seven-time world champion of putting himself above the Scuderia and calling for the team to take immediate action.
Ferrari’s internal tensions have become increasingly difficult to ignore after Hamilton and Leclerc became embroiled in a fierce battle during the opening lap in Mexico. What should have been an opportunity for the Scuderia to secure a strong result instead developed into another damaging episode of intra-team friction.
Former Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher believes Hamilton was largely responsible for the confrontation and has questioned the Briton’s attitude towards his team.
Speaking on Sky’s Backstage Pit Lane podcast, Schumacher made his feelings unmistakably clear.
“I wouldn’t tolerate it,” he said, referring to Hamilton’s public criticism of Ferrari and his teammate.
“It can’t be that Ferrari suffers because they’re both so stubborn,” the former Williams and Toyota driver added.
Schumacher accuses Hamilton of deliberately risking collision
The controversy centred on the opening-lap confrontation between Hamilton and Leclerc, when the Ferrari drivers found themselves fighting for position.
Schumacher believes Hamilton was prepared to accept a collision rather than surrender his position.
Hamilton, “even though he knew he couldn’t make the corner, simply drove in there”, Schumacher argued.
The German went further, suggesting that Hamilton understood the consequences of his manoeuvre.
“He accepted that if Leclerc didn’t move over, they would crash. That was intentional.”
Schumacher believes Leclerc was effectively left with no opportunity to complete the corner safely.
The Monegasque had “absolutely no chance” of making the turn in those circumstances, according to the former Formula 1 driver.
“They would have crashed.”
Schumacher defended Leclerc’s response, arguing that the Ferrari driver had maintained the correct racing line and was not responsible for the confrontation.
Ultimately, Leclerc drove “on the clean line” and “didn’t do anything wrong”, Schumacher insisted.
“He simply couldn’t turn in because his teammate was there.”
Importantly, Schumacher did acknowledge that the incident itself was part of normal racing.
He explained that he had no fundamental problem with the competitive nature of the battle.
“Everyone chooses to brake late and doesn’t want to give up their position.”
His frustration was instead directed towards what happened afterwards.
Hamilton accused of putting himself above Ferrari
For Schumacher, the greater concern was Hamilton’s subsequent reaction and the public criticism that followed.
He was particularly angered by what he described as the “drama” surrounding the incident.
“You just don’t do that,” he stressed.
Schumacher believes both Ferrari drivers ultimately damaged their own race through their internal rivalry.
The pair had “ruined the race for each other”, he argued, believing that Ferrari had thrown away an opportunity to achieve a much stronger result.
His criticism of Hamilton became even more personal when he questioned the Briton’s relationship with the team.
“From my point of view, he’s just the dog walking his master at the moment,” Schumacher remarked.
The former driver accused Hamilton of behaving as though he were more important than Ferrari itself.
The seven-time world champion was putting himself “above the brand”, Schumacher claimed, adding that Hamilton was acting “more like a team boss than a driver”.
Schumacher demands consequences as Ferrari tensions grow
Schumacher also questioned whether Hamilton had become too confident in his position within the Scuderia.
The German suggested that the British driver needed to consider what he actually wanted to achieve at Ferrari.
Hamilton was “too self-confident”, Schumacher argued, before posing two questions about his priorities.
“He now has to ask himself what he actually wants. Is it about him or is it about the success of the entire team?”
Schumacher added that there was sometimes a feeling that “it’s all about him”.
He believes the situation has been developing over several races rather than being an isolated disagreement in Mexico.
For that reason, he called on Ferrari management to intervene before the relationship between its drivers deteriorates further.
“If he were team boss of the Scuderia, he would now give both drivers a dressing-down and explain to them how things are supposed to work at Ferrari,” Schumacher said.
His final message was particularly direct.
The internal rivalry had already gone “too far” over several races, he argued.
“Something urgently needs to change now.”
Ferrari cannot afford another internal battle
The comments add another dimension to Ferrari’s increasingly uncomfortable situation.
Hamilton arrived at the Scuderia with enormous expectations, but his relationship with the team and the challenge of adapting to a new environment have remained subjects of considerable attention.
Leclerc, meanwhile, remains an established figure at Maranello and has his own ambitions to fight for victories and championships.
Managing two highly competitive drivers has never been straightforward for Ferrari. However, allowing disagreements to spill into public view risks creating further distractions at a time when the team needs consistency.
Schumacher’s intervention also raises an important question for Ferrari management: how much freedom should its drivers have to fight each other before the interests of the team take priority?
With tensions now attracting criticism from outside the garage, the Scuderia may need to establish clearer expectations before another confrontation damages its championship ambitions.
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