Mar.15 (GMM) Charles Leclerc may “ship Lewis Hamilton into retirement” this yr, former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher warns.
Amid all of the pre-season hype of the seven time world champion’s Maranello transfer, 40-year-old Hamilton headed to Melbourne clearly off his teammate’s tempo.
He then certified P8, one place behind Leclerc.
“The Italian media will get very agitated after a sure period of time if Lewis doesn’t carry out nicely sufficient,” Schumacher warned in an interview with f1-insider.com.
“Does he wish to put up with that? The chances are due to this fact not small that Leclerc will ship Hamilton into well-deserved retirement.”
Hamilton was additional behind Leclerc within the earlier follow periods in Melbourne – however group boss Frederic Vasseur stood agency.
“I’ve completely little doubt that Lewis will carry out, and really quickly,” the Frenchman instructed Sky Italia. “Final yr, Carlos was P8 or P9 in FP1 after which he gained the race.
“Lewis continues to be constructing a relationship with the group. It’s not an extended course of, however one we have now to undergo. We will’t anticipate an excessive amount of initially – we have now long-term objectives. However I’m very optimistic,” Vasseur added.
Hamilton reported at Albert Park that he was “adapting” his driving fashion to go well with his new pink automotive, with Vasseur agreeing: “The aim is to not be on the restrict, however to be taught the mechanisms of the group.
“I’m not nervous and I’ve little doubt that Hamilton will discover all of his velocity quickly. Whenever you be a part of a brand new group, you undergo a transition interval the place you lay the foundations, and that’s what we’ve completed in these two months.
“It takes time to type all the things out.”
