Lewis Hamilton has been told he needs to be "a bit more professional" after a disappointing start to life with Ferrari.
The seven-time champion made the shock move from Mercedes to Ferrari at the start of the season, hoping to win a record eighth title; however, things have not worked out for either party.
Hamilton has not stood on the podium in a Grand Prix so far this season, with his only joy coming with a Sprint pole and win in Shanghai all the way back in March. Now, former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher has taken aim at the 40-year-old for his performances.
He revealed: "What I wanted to say is that Hamilton still has to be careful, because the speed wasn’t that bad, you could say.
Ralf Schumacher has taken aim at Lewis Hamilton
|REUTERS
"The race track wasn’t that challenging, but those mistakes at Zandvoort, two spins and then a penalty at the yellow flag before the start. I have to be honest, he needs to be a bit more professional."
Hamilton went into Ferrari’s home race at Monza carrying a five-place grid penalty from the previous race in Zandvoort, which Schumacher was highly critical of.
He continued: "With his experience, that really shouldn’t happen to him, and he really has to be careful with things like that so that the fans continue to support him, because that could also annoy the Tifosi.
"When everything goes right for Lewis Hamilton, he’s fast.
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"But I’d say spinning twice at Zandvoort, then crashing his car into the wall and then that too, well, there was a bit too much going on that weekend, where you’d actually expect a bit more concentration from someone so experienced."
Hamilton managed to fight back from the grid penalty to finish a promising sixth for Ferrari, much closer to his Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc, in fourth.
Ferrari has been struggling for pace all season and has taken a step back from their form in previous years, whereas McLaren has stepped up to fill their spot, leaving the Scuderia wanting more, with Hamilton admitting after the race that a podium was never on the cards for either driver.
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Ralf Schumacher believes Lewis Hamilton should be doing better at Ferrari
|GETTY
He claimed: "I think overall our performance [at the Italian Grand Prix] was fairly decent,
"We obviously do not have the pace of the cars much further ahead.
"So, competing for the top three is off the cards for a while, but we keep pushing and trying to extract more. This weekend built a lot on my confidence with the car, [but] definitely I am still not 100 per cent comfortable in the car."
Teammate Leclerc has been on the podium five times this season, whereas Hamilton’s best result has only been fourth.
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While the Britons’ struggles continue, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur noticed a spark in Hamilton that he believes was brought on by the Italian fans.
After the race, he said: "I think the energy that he received from the Tifosi Wednesday and Thursday in [Milan] was something very special for him.
"I don't know if it was expected from him, or I don't know what he was expecting from this, but it was something mega and I think this gave him an extra boost all over the weekend.
Fred Vasseur appears to still support Lewis Hamilton despite a difficult season so far
| Reuters"Even tonight, when he went to the fans to say hello and the Tifosi was something mega. I don't know if you underestimate this or not, that we didn't discuss too much about this, but I think, and even for me, each time that I'm going there, I'm surprised.
"We didn't do the race of our life, we were expecting to be at least on the podium, we are not, but they are still there, they are still enthusiastic, still pushing and it's why I'm a bit disappointed that we were not able to give them a podium this weekend."
Hamilton will now prepare to take on the streets of Baku, where his former Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas holds the record for the fastest speed ever recorded in an F1 car at 234.9MPH (379kmh).