Atrás
Lewis Hamilton has been told he doesn't deserve the Michael Schumacher treatment at Ferrari – by the Formula One legend's own brother. Ralf Schumacher said Hamilton, 41, has no right to expect Ferrari to make him their number one driver, because he hasn't produced the speed to prove that he is better than Charles Leclerc. As a seven-time world champion and the all-time record holder for wins, podiums and pole positions, Hamilton would never accept being sidekick to a team-mate. But nor would Leclerc, 29, whose CV is nowhere near as strong but who is in his eighth season with Ferrari and, earlier this year, signed a new long-term deal to commit many more years to the Scuderia.
It is a much different situation to when Schumacher dominated F1 as the Italian team's undisputed main driver. The German's team-mates, most notably Eddie Irvine and Rubens Barrichello, were under no illusions that they were the number two at Ferrari.
And Michael's brother Ralf said Hamilton had done nowhere near enough behind the wheel of a red car to prove he should get priority over Leclerc.
He said: "The problem is that he is simply not fast enough compared to Leclerc. If he were clearly better than his team-mate, like my brother was back then, this discussion wouldn't even exist. He is the one causing it."
Hamilton is ahead of Leclerc in the drivers' standings, but only by 12 points. They have one grand prix win each to show for their season so far, while there is little to split them in terms of their head-to-head finishes.
Leclerc has out-qualified Hamilton 11 times out of 20, though they are tied at 10-10 for Sunday finishes as the lead Ferrari. Hamilton was leading that stat but Leclerc has finished ahead of his team-mate in eight of the last 12 races.
They cannot be split on sprint results either, as they scores are 3-3 for both qualifying position and race results compared to one another.
Hamilton asked for priority over Leclerc earlier this season, when he was still in with a shout of the drivers' title. But Ralf feels the Brit has no right to make such demands until he has removed all doubt around which of them is Ferrari's best driver.
He added: "[Hamilton must] always make sure he's ahead and be a second or half a second faster than Leclerc. Win every race or at least finish ahead of him – it's that simple."
The row over who gets priority at Ferrari comes after they threw away a win in Mexico City earlier this month by squabbling for the lead on the opening lap. Hamilton started on pole but Leclerc was level with him by turn one and eventually took the lead, but by going off track.
Max Verstappen also slipped past Hamilton in the melee and benefitted when Leclerc was given a penalty for that move, which gifted the win to the Dutchman.
Hamilton demanded 'serious talks' with his team-mate which took place in Brazil last weekend, after which both drivers said their differences had been resolved. Though Leclerc admitted there is still tension between them.
"Of course there is," he said. "We want to finish ahead of each other and sometimes we are not going to do things right. It's okay sometimes to disagree on the way you see things."
Big moments. Packed grandstands. A championship battle that’s heating up.
When the Formula 1 season delivers like this, watching from home just isn’t the same as being there when the lights go out.
With Gullivers Sports Travel, you can experience the most iconic races on the Formula 1 calendar LIVE! Enjoy tickets, handpicked hotels, and seamless travel with one of the UK’s leading sports travel specialists.
Atrás
Top
| Declaración de privacidad Términos del servicio Contacto |
Refresca
|
All the best breaking news stories from Apex Football Lite. Optimised for feature phones and low end Android devices, Apex Football Lite helps users with legacy devices and poor network connectivity access the latest football news and live scores. Particularly relevant for breaking football news in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.