Lewis Hamilton News: "Maximum Penalty" For Driver After Miami Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton took the"maximum penalty" in Miami after poor performance compared to George Russell.

Former Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher has discussed how Lewis Hamilton must be feeling after the weekend of the Miami Grand Prix, finishing behind his young teammate George Russell after a difficult practice and qualifying. Finishing in P6, the Mercedes driver will have been "seething" according to the driver-turned-pundit.

Despite starting the race in 13th position, Hamilton managed an impressive recovery drive, but his pace was not enough to match that of Russell, who finished ahead of him in fourth. Mercedes' performance was lacklustre, with the team ranking third when it came to race pace behind Red Bull and Aston Martin. In what was a weekend of damage control, this isn't bad, but the 7-time world champion can't have been happy.

Schumacher, writing for Sky Deutschland, believes that Hamilton is not used to losing and is frustrated by his team's lack of pace. 

“Lewis Hamilton is currently going to be extremely seething,” he wrote.

“He’s not used to not winning. He wants attention, you can always see that in his outfits.

“In Miami he landed behind his team-mate George Russell. This is a maximum penalty for Hamilton.”

The former driver added that finishing behind Russell is the "maximum penalty" for Hamilton, who is used to being a race winner. 

“Whether Red Bull will be dangerous again this season will become apparent in Europe when the many updates come,” Schumacher continued. 

“Where you can always hope is that Red Bull doesn’t get the best out of the car. Then there might be a chance for someone else. 

“Especially Mercedes could be expected again after the updates, I don’t trust the other teams that much. 

“Mercedes is coming to Europe with a whole new concept. I expect a significant increase, otherwise they have a real problem.”

Hamilton's Mercedes team can, however, take solace in the upcoming introduction of upgrades coming for Imola. This reportedly includes a new floor, body, and front suspension setup. 

While the new concept won't immediately close the gap to Red Bull, it's expected to help Mercedes challenge for podium finishes more often. Schumacher has faith in the Silver Arrows that the new concept will be effective.