Throughout the weekend in Shanghai, where Verstappen failed to score a point and retired early due to an ERS problem, the Red Bull driver was vocal in both his criticism of the "Mario Kart" 2026 F1 rules, but also the need for his team to "get our stuff together."

Rather than publicly voice criticism, former Williams man Schumacher has urged Verstappen to take a leaf out of his brother's book and stand by his struggling Red Bull team.

Speaking on the Backstage Boxengasse podcast, Ralf laid out a "big difference" between brother Michael and the Red Bull driver when each dealing with difficult periods.

However, Schumacher was somewhat sympathetic to the four-time world champion, calling on team principal Laurent Mekies to step up in leadership at Red Bull, rather than let his driver "take centre stage."

Speaking of Mekies, the Red Bull boss believes the gap his team must close to the current on-track benchmarks - Mercedes' W17 and Ferrari's SF-26 - is “substantial”, adding that a proper development race will be needed to bridge the deficit.

Mekies said: "There is not one single area that we need to improve. It’s a 360 improvement. It’s not a surprise."

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