Ralf Schumacher calls for Lewis Hamilton-Ferrari divorce if "mistrust" develops after failed Baku swap

Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher has suggested that Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari should "go their separate ways" at the end of 2025 if "mistrust" brews within the team. His comments come after the team's driver swap debacle at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which sparked controversy on social media.

Ferrari set its new overtaking plan into motion on lap 43 of the 51-lap race. After its first and only round of pit stops, Charles Leclerc, who started the race on the Medium tires, switched to the Hards, and Lewis Hamilton, who started on Hards, switched to the Mediums.

Because the seven-time F1 champion was significantly quicker than his teammate, the Ferrari pit wall asked Leclerc, who was in P8, to let the Briton by, so that he could hunt Lando Norris and Yuki Tsunoda in front of them. Unfortunately, Lewis Hamilton couldn't do so, and as a result, the team asked him to give back P8 to Leclerc.

However, Hamilton shared that the call came too late on the final lap. Even though he slowed down on the main straight to let Leclerc back in P8, he crossed the finish line before the Monegasque.

F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Source: Getty

While analyzing the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on the Sky Sport Formel 1 YouTube channel, Ralf Schumacher spoke about the Lewis Hamilton-Ferrari partnership, which is turning out to be much underwhelming than expected. The German also touched upon the failed driver swap at Baku.

"The way they treat each other isn’t good. Then there’s Lewis’s criticism of the team. I’m skeptical of the combination. And then there’s this failure to swap back with Leclerc before the finish line. Ferrari has to do its work internally, otherwise it’ll tear itself apart from within," Schumacher said (as quoted by F1oversteer)

He added:

"A thunderstorm clears the air; that’s a thing of the past. We simply need to talk openly with each other. The limits and expectations need to be defined. If Lewis no longer has trust in the team, and vice versa, that would be a great shame. Because if mistrust develops, then it’s better to let it go and go our separate ways at the end of the year.

The swap call that Ferrari made isn't an uncommon feature in F1. Many teams and driver combinations in the past have engaged in it, where a driver, who is unable to overtake a rival in front, lets his faster teammate go by to attempt to challenge for that position to get the team a better result. If the faster teammate is also unable to overtake the rival(s) in front, they reverse positions again to restore the status quo.

Charles Leclerc's irate radio message for Lewis Hamilton after failed swap at Baku

Charles Leclerc at the F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Source: Getty

Charles Leclerc shared an irate message on his team radio after Lewis Hamilton didn't slow in time to let him reclaim P8 at Baku. Though the Monegasque emphasized that he didn't care whether his final result was a P8 or P9 (a difference of only two points), he found it "unfair."

When Leclerc's race engineer apologized to him on team radio for the failed swap, the 27-year-old replied:

"I don't really care. It's for an eighth place, so it's okay. He can enjoy that P8. It's just stupid because it's not fair, but again, I don't mind, honestly."

Even in the post-race interview, Leclerc highlighted the same point about the final result not mattering because it was Ferrari's pace that he found to be the main concern rather than an inconsequential swap.

Lewis Hamilton had started the race in P12 after not advancing to Q3 in qualifying for the fifth time this season. However, his pace on the medium tires in the final third of the race was scintillating, facilitating a points finish.

Edited by Yash Kotak