Ralf Schumacher suspects Lewis Hamilton ‘isolated himself’ at Ferrari during 2025 difficulties

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Ralf Schumacher has suggested that Lewis Hamilton might have ‘isolated himself’ at Ferrari last year and that issues with previous race engineer Riccardo Adami could have been creating bigger problems behind the scenes than first suspected.

The 2026 Formula 1 season offers Lewis Hamilton the perfect opportunity to reset at Ferrari after a tricky maiden campaign with the Scuderia.

Lando Norris has backed Hamilton to thrive this year, and the early signs from testing suggest that Ferrari could be back in the hunt for victories under the new regulations.

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One of the biggest talking points surrounding Hamilton this year has been the departure of his race engineer, Riccardo Adami.

Hamilton needs to build up a relationship with his new engineer soon, although Ferrari have yet to confirm who that will be.

Ralf Schumacher was examining how he thinks the seven-time world champion will perform this year, and what might have been going wrong behind the scenes at Ferrari in 2025.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family

Ralf Schumacher thinks Lewis Hamilton ‘feels comfortable’ with 2026 F1 regulation changes

Schumacher was asked on the Backstage Boxengasse Podcast about Hamilton’s most recent post on Instagram, stating that he’s ‘re-set and refreshed’ and responded: “Yes, but that would be a good sign. So, for now, I think it’s good for the car.

“That would support what we said at the beginning, and he obviously feels comfortable with the concept. That’s great for him. I would be happy about that.

“I mean, in terms of speed, Fernando Alonso can still do it even at his age. Why shouldn’t he be able to? Let’s wait and see what Charles Leclerc thinks.

“I believe that he isolated himself at least to some extent at Ferrari, if that’s possible, and communicated with the engineer the way he did.

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“I don’t know if he finally has his engineer now. But Lewis has an incredible number of facets, I think, which are also very good for Formula 1.

“So, Formula 1 has to be grateful for what Lewis has given to Formula 1. The international stage is incredible; you just have to see it that way.

“But yes, maybe that also led to him losing touch with reality a little bit now and then.

“But that’s Formula 1. Of course, I’m not at the same level as Lewis Hamilton, but Formula 1 does something to you, success does something to you, and you have to get through that first.

“I’m glad he sees it that way, and I’ll be even happier when he’s really back, because it will be fantastic to have him racing again.”

READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory

Ferrari’s ‘culture of fear’ has disappeared under Fred Vasseur heading into 2026

One of the main reasons why many people suspect Ferrari haven’t won a world championship since 2008 is the internal politics that go on behind the scenes in Maranello.

Chairman John Elkann calling out Hamilton and Charles Leclerc last season was a rare public example of what’s going on at Ferrari, but team principal Fred Vasseur has been trying to weather the storm.

Ferrari abandoned last season after just a few races, piling more pressure on the team to succeed this year.

It’s been suggested that the ‘culture of fear’ at Ferrari has gone, based on the number of innovations they were willing to experiment with during pre-season testing.

If that’s the case, then Hamilton is in a stronger position to succeed than 12 months ago, and Schumacher thinks he’s got a far better chance of securing that elusive first Ferrari win in the coming weeks and months as a result.