The stakes within Ferrari are higher than ever, not only in the race to become the first Ferrari World Champion since 2007, but in the battle to win the intra-team battle.

And Ralf Schumacher says he would not have decided to take on Charles Leclerc at his team if he were Lewis Hamilton.

Who will win – Lewis Hamilton or Charles Leclerc?

Ferrari’s intra-team battle is the most hotly anticipated of the F1 2025 season as seven-time F1 World Champion Hamilton teams up with eight-time Grand Prix winner Leclerc.

Hamilton is the most successful driver ever in Formula 1, holding the records for the most wins and the most pole positions. He’s also tied with Michael Schumacher for the most World titles.

The numbers and the on-track experience may favour Hamilton, but Ferrari has been Leclerc’s team since 2020 when Sebastian Vettel left, and even then, he was preordained from his junior days.

More on Lewis Hamilton as he starts life at Ferrari

👉 Four important tasks on Lewis Hamilton’s first Ferrari to-do list

👉 Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari: The right move at the wrong time?

It begs the question, which side of the garage will come out on top?

Schumacher reckons Leclerc could have the edge as while he accepts it may be seen as “stupid” to say Hamilton is closer to retirement, that is a fact.

Either way, he believes there will be intense pressure on Ferrari and that it will come from both sides of the garage.

“I think it’s nice that he’s taking on the challenge. But the risk is very, very high for Ferrari,” he told ‘Backstage Boxengasse’ podcast.

“Both sides can lose.

“If Charles Leclerc is slower, then he is no longer treated as the exceptional talent he is often thought to be. And if Lewis Hamilton, it will also be difficult if Leclerc is ahead.

“There’s quite a bit of pressure on the team within the team.

“I don’t know if I would have made the decision to drive next to Leclerc. Because one driver is full of juice, while the other is already heading towards retirement – even if that sounds stupid.”

Added to that, the former F1 driver turned Sky pundit reckons it will take Hamilton at least six months to adjust to racing with Ferrari, and by then, the title could already be Leclerc’s.

“I don’t want to be unfair,” he continued. “Of course it’s not easy, because he doesn’t know the team yet.

“Lewis will need at least six months, if not a tick longer, to settle into the team. That’s why I see it as impossible that he will compete for the World Championship this year.

“If the car is able to win the title, it would normally have to play into the hands of Charles Leclerc – simply because he’s already in the team.”

Although Schumacher brought up Hamilton and retirement, and he’s not the first person to speak about a “shelf life”, Toto Wolff have said that last season, the F1 driver says he doesn’t feel close to retirement at all.

“You can’t compare me to another 40-year-old, past or present, Formula One driver in history. Because they are nothing like me,” he told Time Magazine.

“I’m hungry, driven, don’t have a wife and kids. I’m focused on one thing, and that’s winning. That’s my No. 1 priority.”

Such is his disdain for any whispers of a shelf life that he reckons he could even be around for another decade.

“What I can tell you is, retirement is nowhere on my radar,” he said. “I could be here until I’m 50, who knows.”

Read next: Horner issues F1 ‘engineering utopia’ warning with ‘self-interest’ called out