Schumacher surprised by Mercedes call: "Lewis is not a monarch"

Lewis Hamilton was protected a lot by Mercedes after his mistake on the Silverstone circuit, which caused Max Verstappen to crash into the tyres, but Ralf Schumacher thinks that Hamilton could also be told the truth. According to the former Formula 1 driver the seven times world champion doesn't need to be treated like royalty.

"I find the thin skin of the Mercedes front men particularly interesting when Lewis was criticised," Schumacher said in an interview with F1 Insider. Mercedes felt there should be more respect for Hamilton and his achievements. "It doesn't matter what and how many titles someone has, we are all human, mistakes can be made. For me it was a mistake by Lewis, which of course had big consequences for Red Bull. I feel bad that you can't talk about it openly."

Hamilton not the king

The 46-year-old German believes Hamilton, like all other drivers, should be judged purely on his driving and not on his reputation. "Lewis is not a monarch, he is still a human being who goes to the toilet like the rest of us," said the younger brother of Michael Schumacher. Max Verstappen's two mediocre weekends in Britain and Hungary mean that Hamilton does now have the World Championship lead back in his hands.

The second half of the season is about to start with the Belgian Grand Prix. It is possible that Verstappen and Hamilton will meet again then. Schumacher: "The two will clash more often because neither wants to give way. The question that comes to my mind is first of all: what has Red Bull been able to do during the summer break?"

Mercedes with the momentum

During the last two GPs, Mercedes seemed to have a bit more of an upper hand. The formation from Brackley owes that to the updates that were introduced. Was Red Bull able to use the summer break (despite the factory being compulsorily closed for two weeks) to find some extra performance somewhere?