Lewis Hamilton doesn't belong in the list of exceptional F1 drivers who extract something extra from the car, opines former F1 driver

Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher boldly opined that Lewis Hamilton is not on the list of drivers that extract extra performance out of a car. The German stated this while praising Verstappen, who does make it into the list according to him.

Ever since the 2021 F1 season, both Verstappen and Hamilton have been compared by many in the F1 space, especially because of their fierce rivalry. Hamilton has more titles and race wins under his belt, but Verstappen is quickly collecting silverware as well.

Speaking to Sky Germany about F1 drivers extracting extra performance from their cars, Ralf Schumacher initially praised Max Verstappen for doing so and placed him among other top drivers from the past. However, he made a bold statement, claiming that he does not feel Lewis Hamilton belongs on that list.

“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,” Schumacher said. (via PlanetF1)

Though the German praised Hamilton for his skills, he added that the seven-time world champion relied on a good environment to perform at his highest level, something he claimed was not the case with Verstappen. During the conversation, he made another bold statement that Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull's former four-time world champion, also needed perfect conditions to deliver.

Schumacher praised Verstappen for squeezing out performance from a slow car and under tricky circumstances within the team in 2024.

"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,” he added.

As the 2024 F1 season has now ended, Hamilton will leave Mercedes and move to Ferrari, with the deal having been finalized even before the 2024 campaign started. Hamilton won six of his seven world titles with the Silver Arrows and dominated the sport with them from 2014 to 2020.

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Ralf Schumacher speculates the difficulties Lewis Hamilton could face in Ferrari

Ralf Schumacher also talked about how Lewis Hamilton could face certain issues when he joins Ferrari in 2025. The German also drew parallels between Hamilton and his brother Michael Schumacher's arrival in Ferrari.

Speaking to Sky Germany, Ralf stated that Charles Leclerc's established personality and bond with Ferrari could affect Hamilton when he joins the Italian team. Furthermore, he stated that Michael Schumacher's arrival in Ferrari was quite different from Hamilton's since the former was a young reigning world champion at the time.

Schumacher feels that these factors might not allow Hamilton to gel well with the team and affect his performance.

“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 said. (via PlanetF1)

Hamilton will officially join Ferrari on January 1, 2025, and hope to win his record-breaking eighth world championship with them before hanging his helmet.