Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton only hurting himself with 'narrow-minded' F1 approach

Lewis Hamilton had a poor 2025 season

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Monday 19 January 2026 18:55

Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton has been described as 'narrow minded' by Ralf Schumacher for his recent comments against his critics.

Hamilton suffered a poor first season as a Ferrari driver in 2025, not claiming a single grand prix podium and languishing down in sixth in the drivers' championship, 86 points behind team-mate Charles Leclerc.

It was this form that led to some pundits suggesting that the Brit's time in the sport could be coming to an end, particularly with his contract at Ferrari set to expire at the end of the 2026 season.

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The 41-year-old will need much-improved performances in 2026 to encourage Ferrari to give him a new contract, or he may have to face up to the prospect of retirement.

Hamilton recently shot back at his critics, suggesting that they weren't at his 'level', but Schumacher has now said that this is the wrong approach to take and the wrong attitude to have.

"That shows me that he's relatively narrow-minded," Schumacher said on Sky Germany's Backstage Boxengasse podcast. "You almost feel sorry for him, and I don't mean that in a bad way, but in a truly human way. That hurts, no question about it.

"I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for him. I was a racing driver myself, I know a little bit how he feels."

Can Hamilton get back to his best?

Hamilton's comments about his critics not being at his level are completely justified, with the Brit the most successful driver in the history of the sport.

He holds the joint record with Michael Schumacher for the most amount of world championships of any F1 driver, but leads Schumacher on the all-time lists of race wins, podiums and pole positions.

However, much like Schumacher's time at Mercedes between 2010-2012, Hamilton's last few seasons have begun to see a fall off in performance from the Brit.

He has only beaten a team-mate once in the last four seasons, and has only claimed two race victories in four full seasons since his agonising title defeat to Max Verstappen in 2021.

But Hamilton will hope that the new 2026 cars are more suited to his driving style. F1 is seeing a complete rules reset from this season onwards, and that could help Hamilton fight nearer to the front, particularly if his Ferrari team can make gains themselves on their rivals.

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Ralf Schumacher