Ferrari head to Monaco eyeing their strongest chance of a 2026 victory, but the F1 Nation podcast panel used the build-up to probe a far older wound at Maranello: why no driver since Michael Schumacher has truly led the team.
Host Tom Clarkson revisited a point aired on F1's official Beyond the Grid podcast — that Schumacher's defining contribution was leadership rather than lap time.
"Michael Schumacher was a better leader than he was a racing driver at Ferrari," Clarkson relayed. "He set us in a direction, and every single person — all 600 people, as was the case back then — wanted to follow Michael. I feel that's maybe what Ferrari have been craving since Michael left all those years ago."
The unspoken comparison is with Charles Leclerc, who despite his speed and status as Ferrari's long-term cornerstone has never filled that role. Jolyon Palmer pinpointed the reason in the neighbouring garage.
"Michael Schumacher never had a team-mate like Lewis Hamilton," Palmer said. "It's very difficult for Charles to be the de facto leader at Ferrari when the other guy is Lewis, who's achieved so much. The team naturally have to balance out both. You've got Lewis off the back of a really great weekend, so it's not easy for Charles to come back and say, 'This is how we need to sort it out.'"
Palmer's other argument was about era. Schumacher operated when testing was effectively unlimited, with a private circuit at Ferrari's gates.
"Back then there was a lot more testing," Palmer said. "At the height of the Bridgestone-Michelin tyre war, we used to have a day off in Monaco. Schumi used to go back to Maranello, to Fiorano, and practise his starts, just to put into practice what he'd learned. That level of commitment from him was extraordinary."
James Hinchcliffe agreed the environment that let Schumacher unite Ferrari was a product of its time.
"Because testing was open and Ferrari had a test track at the factory, Schumi was there all the time," Hinchcliffe said. "In all his days off from racing, you'd be there anyway. It was an easier landscape for a driver to successfully fill that role. I don't disagree that the leadership Schumi had was revolutionary — but it's a slightly different situation in 2026."
The modern calendar only sharpens the contrast. With more than 20 races a year, the mental demand on drivers far exceeds the 16-to-18-round seasons of Schumacher's pomp, leaving little room for the factory-floor presence Ferrari once enjoyed.
The timing of the discussion is telling. Leclerc arrives at his home race off the back of what he called the worst weekend of his career, having been outpaced by Hamilton in Canada. The pairing of a generational talent and a seven-time champion may be Ferrari's biggest weapon on track — and, awkwardly, the very reason neither can become the singular figurehead the team has lacked for two decades.
Monaco might finally deliver Ferrari a win. A leader, the panel suggested, is a much taller order.
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*Originally published on [News Formula One](https://newsformula.one/article/ferrari-missing-schumacher-leadership). Visit for full coverage.*