Ralf Schumacher has blasted Lewis Hamilton for his “mi, mi, mi” attitude at the Miami Grand Prix, especially after he claimed his radio messages to the pit wall were “sarcastic”.

Not for the first time this season, Hamilton’s radio communications with Riccardo Adami made headlines as the Briton gave voice to his frustrations as he sat behind his team-mate Charles Leclerc.

Were Lewis Hamilton’s radio comments sarcastic as he claimed?

Running behind Leclerc, Hamilton was frustrated that Ferrari had not told his team-mate to move over to let him through.

Asking Adami if Ferrari wanted him to “sit here the whole race”, he added that it was “not good teamwork” especially as he “got out of the way” for his team-mate in China.

Told that Ferrari would swap positions, he replied: “Ah, have a tea break while you’re at it! Come on!”

The tension continued through to the end of the race when, told of Carlos Sainz’s deficit having been ordered to give seventh place to Leclerc, he bit back: “You want me to let him pass as well?”

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Such was the tension after Hamilton’s radio messages, Fred Vasseur spoke with him after the Grand Prix but Hamilton claimed his comments were sarcastic.

He told the media, including PlanetF1.com: “Fred came to my room. I just put my hand on his shoulder and was like, ‘dude, calm down, don’t be so sensitive’.

“I could have said way worse things on the radio. You hear some of the things others have said in the past, some of it was sarcasm.

“Look, you’ve got to understand we’re under a huge amount of pressure within the car. You’re never going to get the most peaceful messages coming through in the heat of the battle. And yeah, it was fine. We said we’ll take it…”

Vasseur was ready to downplay the messages, saying as long as “trust” remains and everyone understands that is Ferrari “first” there is no issue.

However, Schumacher wasn’t at all impressed with Hamilton’s claimed sarcasm.

“‘Mi, mi, mi’ Hamilton, that was somehow off the mark,” Schumacher said on Sky Deutschland’s Backstage Boxengasse podcast.

“If you really want to get past, that’s one thing, he was faster at the time. But then give it back without a fight.

“And afterwards, I don’t pretend that I meant it sarcastically. Instead, I just say that I’m sorry.

“That shouldn’t really happen with his experience and his age. He could have acted a bit more cleverly. I think that would have suited him better.”

The former F1 driver believes Hamilton’s comments in Miami may have soured his relationship with Ferrari, and that surely he has to realise that himself.

“The people at Ferrari have now got to know Hamilton a bit internally,” he added. “Of course, the relationship is tarnished by such actions. That will stick and he has to know that himself.

“There is now a need for clarification, and it will definitely be discussed – especially internally, how to deal with it in the future.

“His clear words on the radio and his demands don’t match his performance at the moment. And it doesn’t matter how many times he was World Champion. He may have been closer to Leclerc, but I think he should keep the ball a little flatter at the moment.”

The German is hoping that Ferrari can put on a better show at the next race in Imola where, although there’s talk of only a “small step” forward, he says Ferrari always seem to shine.

And if not, he reckons pressure will mount on the shoulders of team boss Fred Vasseur.

“Leclerc was also very frustrated in Miami. I expect the pressure to be very high there too,” he said.

“At Imola and in Italy, the Ferrari is somehow always a bit faster than anywhere else. Ferrari is also coming there with an update that has to work. Team boss Fred Vasseur is already under a lot of pressure.”

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