It will not be easy for Lewis Hamilton to break Michael Schumacher's record tally of seven world championships.

That is the view of Michael's brother Ralf, who also raced in F1.

Hamilton won his fifth world championship last year, and now many are expecting him to dislodge Schumacher as the most successful driver of all time.

"Formula one has always been characterised by teams and guys who did a great job in their era," Ralf Schumacher told DPA news agency.

"What Michael did was extraordinary and will always be extraordinary. Even if Lewis breaks the records, that doesn't change.

"But he has to do it first. Two titles, that's still a long way off. Especially if Ferrari does the job right and Red Bull is there as well, it will not be easy for him," he added.

Ralf thinks Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel will be strong in 2019.

"Everything he wanted from Ferrari, he now gets, which is very important for a driver," he said. "That was the biggest mistake they made before.

"Sebastian has always shown that if the package fits, he can get the most out of it. It could be that he gets a bit of pressure from his new teammate, but that can help the situation too," Ralf added, referring to Charles Leclerc.

"If you have two fast guys, you usually go faster in the right direction."