Ralf Schumacher: Ferrari works better than its drivers

Ralf Schumacher, ex-Formula 1 driver and now an expert on Sky Deutschland, commented in his column on the key results of the Miami Grand Prix, including Max Verstappen’s dominance, Lewis Hamilton’s not-so-brilliant performance and the following mistakes made by the Ferrari drivers. But he also drew attention to the rudeness with which the US security services acted.

Max Verstappen won the Miami Grand Prix for the second year in a row, although he started from 9th. I don’t know if there is a driver in the championship right now who can compete with him. When things go well, Max is unbeatable behind the wheel of the RB19 – partly because of his talent, but of course also because of the car.

Fernando Alonso climbed the podium for the fourth time as an Aston Martin pilot. However, I believe that the team from Silverstone is still largely inferior to Red Bull Racing. In terms of organizational structure, Aston Martin F1 is not at championship level, but it takes time to get there.

The chances of Red Bull winning all races this year will become apparent during the European leg of the season, when many teams will present their technical innovations. In addition, rivals hope that at some point Red Bull will not be able to fully exploit RB19’s potential, and that someone else may have the chance to succeed.

First of all, we can expect the upgraded car to add Mercedes, but I have less confidence in the ability of other teams. Brackley is preparing a chassis for European races, which is based on a completely different concept, and I expect a lot from them. If these expectations are not met, it means that the team has really serious problems.

So it is not just the concept of the chassis, but also that Mercedes sets the wrong goals and adheres to the wrong standards. However, this is unlikely given the vast experience of this team.

Lewis Hamilton is now in a state of obvious irritation. It’s unusual for him that he can’t fight for wins. He always wants to be in the spotlight and that is reflected in his extravagant outfits. But in Miami he lost to his partner, George Russell, both in qualifying and the race, and that’s the worst for Lewis.

Ferrari again performed worse than expected. In general, the team’s work after Fred Vasser led the Scuderia leaves a good impression on me. There are several changes taking place in Maranello, but the team’s biggest problem now, in my opinion, is with the riders. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz are not consistent enough. For example, Leclerc himself admitted that he had not heeded the advice of his engineers, as a result of which the settings of his car turned out to be wrong.

All sorts of mistakes he makes indicate that he is either still immature professionally or he is still not good enough to give Ferrari a championship win. At least, this is the impression.

If Sainz lost more than eight tenths in qualifying to his partner in Baku, then he was already at his level in Miami, but during the race he made a mistake, locked the wheels under braking, on the way to the pit stop, after which he was fined for speeding in the pit lane. Frankly, it seems to me that the Ferrari team is now doing a better job than its drivers.

Shows are an important part of high-profile events in the US, and we’ve seen that in Miami as well. We are used to certain traditions that have developed in Formula 1, but if the public likes it then we will have to adapt. Personally, I think there was a bit of a bust in terms of the show, although not too much.

It is always important to consider the needs of a particular market. The rising popularity of Formula 1 in the United States is encouraging, and I imagine there’s some show waiting for us in Austin, but where it will be especially bright is in Las Vegas. Although all this does not cross certain boundaries, I think everything is fine.

But I was unpleasantly affected by what happened after the race. The security team cordoned off the area where the leaders of the top three teams had gathered, but that was still normal. For example, when Jenson Button tried to go there, the guards would not let him through, although the Formula 1 representative then apologized to him. But no one else was explained anything.

Personally, the guards pushed me out very rudely, it just hurt me. I’m ready to forget about scratches, but this is also impossible. I also expect an apology, but more importantly, that such incidents should not happen in the future.

On the air I called these people idiots and still remain. In over 20 years in Formula 1, this is the first time I have found myself in a similar situation and we intend to make a formal request to the championship management. The rudeness with which the security services acted is unacceptable. I think they just don’t understand what Formula 1 is and how it works.