Lewis Hamilton has “never been able to” lead a team and work with his engineers on car development like Michael Schumacher did at Ferrari.

That is the opinion of Michael Schumacher’s brother, the former F1 driver Ralf, who believes outgoing Mercedes star Hamilton will struggle to replicate his fellow seven-time World Champion’s success at the Scuderia.

Ralf Schumacher: Lewis Hamilton can’t lead a team like Michael Schumacher

Hamilton is due to start work at Ferrari next month, having announced in February that he will join the Italian team in a multi-year contract from the F1 2025 season.

Hamilton stands as the most decorated driver in F1 history, having equalled Schumacher’s record of seven World Championships in 2020 before becoming the first man in history to surpass 100 race wins and pole positions.

Schumacher enjoyed the best years of his career at Ferrari, with whom he won five straight titles between 2000 and 2004 in an unprecedented spell of dominance.

The German was renowned for his team-building qualities, working closely with team principal Jean Todt and technical director Ross Brawn to help Ferrari emerge as the leading team of his era.

Hamilton was eventually signed as Schumacher’s replacement at the end of the 2012 season following the latter’s failed three-year comeback with Mercedes, with the British driver’s move from McLaren his only previous team switch.

Former Williams and Toyota driver Schumacher claimed Hamilton, who will turn 40 on January 7, is unlikely to match his brother’s impact at Ferrari, pointing to a perceived inability to lead “the direction” of the team and car development.

He said: “The biggest difference is that Michael, among many other qualities, was able to develop a car perfectly for his driving style together with the engineers.

“Lewis can’t do that. He’s never been able to do that, if you listen carefully to what the Mercedes technicians say.

“Toto Wolff [Mercedes boss] has emphasised more than once that a driver should step on the gas and the engineers should develop.

“But he also said that because his drivers were apparently incapable of giving the right input.

“Michael was completely different. He always gave his confidants like Ross Brawn or Jean Todt the direction.

“That makes things even more difficult for Lewis: because Charles Leclerc is the top dog. Everyone in the team knows him. For Lewis, everything is new at Ferrari.

“What’s more, Michael came to Ferrari as the current world champion and was much younger.

“That’s not the case with Lewis.”

Mr Schumacher’s latest comments come after he revealed that he does not count Hamilton among the list of “exceptional world champions” – including F1 2024 title winner and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen – who are capable of making the difference on track.

He likened Hamilton to four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, who retired at the end of the 2022 season, claiming the pair require a “perfect” car in order to perform at their best.

Praising Verstappen’s 2024 season, Mr Schumacher told Sky Germany:”He simply makes the difference.

“Max Verstappen is really capable of giving that little bit extra that those exceptional world champions before him already have.

“There are not many of them, and I honestly don’t count Lewis Hamilton among that list.

“Hamilton is certainly exceptional, but also needs a bit of the perfect environment and car, just like Sebastian Vettel.

“But Max Verstappen, what he has achieved this year in these circumstances – problems with Christian Horner, the departure of Adrian Newey.

“The car was superior in the beginning [of the F1 2024 season], then a disaster.”

After a short winter break, Hamilton is expected to make his on-track debut with Ferrari during what is expected to be a two-day ‘wake-up’ test held at the Fiorano circuit on January 21-22.

Ferrari have traditionally staged a private test with a previous car at Fiorano in January, targeted at getting team and drivers back up to speed ahead of official pre-season running.

Ferrari’s 2025 car, codenamed Project 677, will be launched on February 19, one day after F1’s first-ever season launch event in London.

A three-day pre-season test will be held in Bahrain between February 26-28 before the F1 2025 season begins with the Australian Grand Prix on March 16.