Eddie Irvine says Lewis Hamilton ignored Schumacher’s Ferrari lesson

Lewis Hamilton’s switch to Ferrari hasn’t lived up to the pre-season excitement so far, with the seven-time world champion still waiting for his first podium of the year.

The second half of the campaign didn’t get off to a great start, either. Hamilton crashed out at Zandvoort and then picked up a five-place grid penalty at Monza for a yellow flag violation.

He recovered well enough to finish sixth but missed out on a podium challenge despite starting fifth.

READ MORE: Ferrari staff thoughts on Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s Monza performance revealed

Ferrari are holding onto second place in the Constructors’ Championship, but Red Bull’s recent progress in Monza could put that under threat. At this stage, they’re counting on Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Yuki Tsunoda having inconsistent runs to keep their spot.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 about Hamilton’s adjustment period, former driver Eddie Irvine said he believes Hamilton didn’t take note of what Michael Schumacher went through when he made his own move back in 1996.

Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari switch was ‘too late’, says Eddie Irvine

After clinching back-to-back titles with Benetton, Schumacher joined a Ferrari team that hadn’t seen much recent success. At the time, they had managed only two wins between 1990 and 1995. It wasn’t until later that Schumacher helped turn them into regular title contenders.

Irvine, who raced alongside Schumacher at Ferrari, doesn’t think Hamilton took on board what the German went through in those early years.