Max Verstappen receives stern F1 warning: 'You are not Michael Schumacher'

Ralf Schumacher believes Max Verstappen should not air his criticism of F1's new rules in public, something he feels his brother Michael would never do. 

Red Bull driver Verstappen has been fiercely critical of the new technical regulations, branding them as "anti-racing" and like "Formula E on steroids" during pre-season testing.

Following an entertaining Chinese GP, in which his RB22 machine was off the pace and retired with a coolant leak, Verstappen said that anyone who had enjoyed the race 'didn't know racing.'

This approach of lashing out has drawn criticism from Ralf Schumacher, who used his brother Michael's example of building a tight-knit and cohesive team structure, one which always presented a united front during his time at Ferrari. 

"What is very important now, and this is also the big difference with my brother, is that he always stood behind his team and did not bring out criticism," Schumacher told the Backstage Boxengasse podcast.

"Internally, of course, you have to be clear. I heard that everyone was on a plane together and had a big consultation.

"What is important now is that Laurent Mekies shows that he is not only a good leader, but also fills gaps by bringing in new, strong personnel. 

"To me, he is primarily a technician. I don't know how big his network is outside of Italy, after his history at Ferrari. 

"As for Red Bull, at the moment, unfortunately, Max Verstappen takes centre stage. He is almost forced to say something about everything because there is no one else.

"At Mercedes, you see that there is more talk from engineers, if you know what I mean."