Jacques Villeneuve: ‘Emotional’ Lewis Hamilton could crumble at Ferrari

Speaking to InstantCasino.com, Formula 1 legend Jacques Villeneuve has said he thinks Lewis Hamilton will be an emotional rollercoaster at Ferrari after displaying some tears at Silverstone.

The Canadian is full of praise towards Carlos Sainz and believes any team would be lucky to have him, whether that’s Williams looking to come back to winning ways or Red Bull rebuilding around Sainz as their lead driver.

Villeneuve also discussed the impact the Brad Pitt F1 film can have on the sport, saying it can bring a whole new fanbase.

Read the full interview below:

Question. What is your reaction to Ralph Schumacher’s announcement?

Jacques Villeneuve: ‘Emotional’ Lewis Hamilton could crumble at Ferrari, Carlos Sainz is perfect choice for Red Bull rebuild and the F1 film can bring a whole new fanbase to the sport: “This is great news for Ralf, I am very very happy for him and I can’t imagine how difficult all those years must have been having to carry the weight of hiding”

Q. Now we’re past the halfway mark for F1 in 2024, what’s your take on this season?

JV: “The season has changed a lot and it’s surprising. Red Bull have lost their leading position, and the best two teams now are McLaren and Mercedes. Max Verstappen is still making a difference and winning, but it’s becoming harder and harder as the season goes on. Thanks to that, we see how good of a driver Sergio Perez actually is, he’s not the same driver as before. 

“Lando Norris has made a big step to be a contender. But, ever since Monaco, Ferrari have declined and nobody seems to know how and why that’s happened, it will be hard to recover. Carlos Sainz has handled it a lot better than Charles Leclerc and it shows how strong of a candidate he will be for the next seat he takes – he can handle the pressure better than Leclerc can. Sainz sees it as ‘let’s see how we can make the best out of a bad situation’, whereas Leclerc is like ‘crap is this what the next five years will be like?’.”

Q. Lewis Hamilton was very emotional at Silverstone, will he be able to cope with pressure at Ferrari next year?

JV: “Lewis Hamilton will be an emotional rollercoaster at Ferrari. He seems to be very emotional in his driving, in the highs and lows, and it seems to affect him quite a lot. You can tell he was on a roll and in the zone at Silverstone – he hasn’t been in the zone like that for a while. Every season he’s driven, Hamilton has had ups and downs, he’s never had a season like Max Verstappen. There’s always swings in his moods, it might be self-doubt but I’m not sure.”

“Most of the season, it’s looked like Hamilton was accepting defeat to George Russell, which is weird. In Silverstone, his killer instinct was bad and he made the difference in the rain. That’s the champion we know, he knows how to take hold of an occasion.”

Q. How much can emotions affect your driving?

JV: “Emotions can suck your energy dry, it’s not a great feeling. Max Verstappen feels it too, but he’s able to replenish that energy to win a race week after week. Every race weekend in 2021 was taxing for him, the next two years were a lot more relaxed but this year he has had to work very hard to perform. That amount of effort can be taxing and tire you out.” 

Q. Could that be Lewis Hamilton’s last Grand Prix win?

JV: “No, Silverstone won’t be Lewis Hamilton’s last Grand Prix win. He still has the fire in his belly to perform. Also, the Mercedes has become very quick so we will probably see another win for Hamilton this year. Somehow, Mercedes have followed the same trajectory as the McLaren. Hamilton knows how to drive this version of the car, and he showed that in the last race.” 

Q. Will Lewis Hamilton regret his move to Ferrari now the Mercedes is quick?

JV: “No, Lewis Hamilton needed a change anyway, he won’t regret leaving Mercedes this year. The long-term future for Mercedes was not with Hamilton, they have Geroge Russell and are preparing Kimi Antonelli for his seat. Both sides were waiting for an excuse to go their separate ways, without it being a fight. 

“Ferrari is the ultimate challenge, and if Hamilton can win a championship with them then he will undoubtedly go down as the greatest of all time, across any generation. It doesn’t matter how many championships Hamilton ends up with because some of his seasons with Mercedes were easy, it’s these challenges that set him apart.”

Q. Is it remarkable that Sergio Perez had his Red Bull contract extended?

JV: “There is a lack of judgement of the Sergio Perez situation. I don’t think Perez is worse than he was two years ago, but Max Verstappen has had to step up so the gap between the two has increased. Perez is finding it much harder to drive this car, and so is Verstappen, but we’re seeing the Verstappen who won his first championship this season.”

Q. Who would be Sergio Perez’s ideal replacement?

JV: “In the Red Bull family now, there’s no suitable replacement for Sergio Perez. 

“Yuki Tsunoda is still a volatile driver, he’s a bit more controlled than he was in the past but he’s still inconsistent. Liam Lawson doesn’t have the experience to replace him, we don’t know if he can make that step. 

“My best bet to replace Perez at Red Bull is Carlos Sainz. He’s a great teammate who performs for any team he drives for. Red Bull need to rebuild right now, Sainz would be a great first step in that rebuild.”

Q. Guanyou Zhou has come out and said he doesn’t mind a reserve seat, should he show more fight to stay in F1?

JV: “Guanyou Zhou has a big luggage of cash in his sponsors that he needs to put somewhere, whether that’s as an F1 driver or a reserve driver. Based on the results, Zhou doesn’t deserve a seat in F1. If a team can get all that sponsorship money that Zhou brings with him, even as a reserve drive, then it’s a great result for them.”

Q. Charles Leclerc is struggling with the Ferrari car and strategies, what’s your opinion on his situation?

JV: “Charles Leclerc seems to be reacting to the pressure since he won the Monaco Grand Prix. It was an important race to win, but that has taken its toll on him. Why is this slump happening? It seems like the development of the car has taken a wrong turn, but the team as a whole need to stay focused. Carlos Sainz seems to be holding this pressure a lot better.”

Q. How good can Ollie Bearman become at Haas and in F1?

JV: “It’s not a surprise that Ollie Bearman has secured the junior Ferrari team seat with the amount of Friday mornings he was driving in. 

“Bearman had a good race in Jeddah, he survived and scored some points for the team. Everyone reacted like he won the race, but he wasn’t even matching the pace of the other Ferrari. If he was in another team, he would not have won any points. You have to take it in perspective that he was in a Ferrari, not a Williams or Haas. 

“Bearman still needs to make that next step – he has done enough to deserve that chance at Haas but now we will see how good of a driver he really is.”

Q. What impact can the Brad Pitt F1 film have on the sport?

JV: “The F1 film can bring a lot of fans, but that doesn’t make them race fans. It doesn’t mean they understand the sport and how it works because they’ve watched Brad Pitt in a race car. I did really enjoy the movie Rush, that was really good and I expect it to be a similar Hollywood-style type of movie. 

“The film will make a lot more people excited about F1, but not necessarily for the right reasons.” 

Q. If you were still racing, would you have been frustrated if you saw Brad Pitt having an imaginary interview next to you at Silverstone? 

“No, I wouldn’t be annoyed to be in the paddock with Brad Pitt. They’re making a movie, there’s no harm in it and it’s fun. A lot of people are already complaining that it won’t be realistic F1, but who cares? It’s a movie. Was Top Gun real? No, but it was a great movie.

“As long as the film doesn’t show a driver go down a gear on a straight or go a stupid direction, then it will be a fun and harmless film.”

Q. Who would you want to act as you in an F1 film? 

JV: “I’d want Ewan McGregor to portray my life in F1, I was blonde at the time so that would be cool.”

Q. If Max Verstappen left Red Bull, would Carlos Sainz be a good enough lead driver to replace him?

JV: “Carlos Sainz has never been a lead driver in a team. He doesn’t know what it takes to be at that level. Sainz has always had to prove he is as good as the number one and has had to work differently. It would be a completely different role for him. 

“Sainz does have the talent and work ethic to succeed in that role as a lead driver, he seems to survive in high-pressure situations and I think he would be able to handle being the main driver at Red Bull if Verstappen were to leave. I don’t think a lead position would change his work ethic.”

Q. Is this Fernando Alonso’s last team or will he be at another team?

JV: “The problem now is not Fernando Alonso’s quality, it’s his age. If teams had to decide between him and a young driver who is not as good as Alonso, they would pick the younger driver because of their age. It’s madness, but that’s how the sport works. It’s a bad thing, but it’s a normal thing in every sport and life. You have to give the young a chance, even if they’re not as good as the seniors. It’s also worth noting that team principals and owners don’t want a driver with more aura overpowering them, they want to be the father of the team and situation, and to do that you need younger drivers than Alonso.” 

“There is no optimum age in F1, in the past, we were not as healthy as the drivers now and technologically or physically advanced. Also, racing is super safe now, if you’re still a racer at the age of 42, you’re either a great racer or you didn’t take enough risks in your career. I don’t think Alonso has ever been hurt, I’ve never been hurt and my car was nowhere near as safe as they are today. The modern F1 cars are the easiest they’ve ever been to drive.”

Q. Could we see a veterans F1 race?

JV: “Wouldn’t that be amazing? Please F1, do it before I get too old! 

“It’s harder to do it in racing than it is in football or golf because you’d need to rely on F1 teams to make safe enough cars for older drivers to be safe in. In the other sports, you can work on yourself and practice whenever. Racing is super expensive and it relies on more than your individual ability.”

“I’d say a veteran’s F1 would be as attractive as F2, if not more, because of who would be involved.” 

Q. You made clear what you think of Daniel Ricciardo, do you think drivers from your era like Michael Schumacher would have felt the same?

JV: “Yes, I think Michael Schumacher and drivers in my era would agree with my opinion on Daniel Ricciardo because back then, you didn’t stay in F1 for a long time unless you drove very quickly or brought a lot of money into the sport. 

“F1 used to be harder to score points too as only the top six were points positions. If you finished top six in a Minardi, everyone was like ‘Wow that was special’, but finishing top six with the rest of the teams then you’d be content with points but it was nothing to be proud of. The perception has changed since I drove because the top 10 would be the absolute minimum, it’s not an achievement for a driver like Ricciardo. I’m a little old-fashioned so I can react the way it used to be and I can be critical, but it’s also to refrain from accepting a points finish as ‘good enough’.”

Q. Nico Hulkenberg finished sixth in his Haas at Silverstone, will he be a success at Audi?

JV: “Nico Hulkenberg will be a success at Audi depending on how much time they give him. He won’t be as good next year, the team will be awful, and there’s no expectation for Hulkenberg to finish in high positions. No work will be done on this car and next year’s car yet, and with the budget caps, it will make it hard for Audi to recover. Look at Williams, they can’t exceed a certain level. The budget caps favour the good teams, which is mad, it’s awfully regulated, Red Bull broke their cap because of catering for their engineers.”

“The restructuring of the budget rules should be based on fantasy points. Each team should have their own amount of points to spend on engineers, and they can spend those points on changing engines throughout the season so there is no cap. Inflation and deflation of currencies can vary across continents, and if a certain team is affected by that inflation or deflation, it shouldn’t be the factor that reduces or increases their spending on the development of the car compared to other teams. It should be on an even playing field.”

Q. Could Mick Schumacher find a new home at Audi?

JV: “It doesn’t seem like any team wants Mick Schumacher to drive for them. The push has been made by Mick and his team, but no one seems to be jumping to get him on their team. The problem is his years in F1 didn’t conclude in a positive way, he might be doing better and showing promise in the position he’s in, but the evidence is there for everyone to see. For teams, it’s worrisome, do they want to take the risk of hoping Mick is better than he was? It doesn’t look like it at the moment.

“If a team does employ Mick as an F1 driver, it’s because they want the Schumacher image and it’s in hope he’s better than he was at Haas. It’s a gamble that Audi might be willing to take.”

Q. How will the fallout between Jos Verstappen and Christian Horner affect the Red Bull team?

JV: “The relationship between Jos Verstappen and Christian Horner is not good. But, we know how Max Verstappen thinks, he wants a car that wins. It seems he’s moved on the story at the start of the season and I think both Max and the Red Bull team know they need each other to succeed, they will probably be willing to put behind any recent hardships.”

Q. Do you think Red Bull is the best place for Max Verstappen?

JV: “It depends on what becomes available for Max Verstappen. There is no space at McLaren. Would he be treated any better at Mercedes? And would he take George Russell or Kimi Antonelli’s seat? Both Russell and Antonelli are Mercedes products and have been heavily invested in. But, Mercedes would probably want to sign Verstappen just to rob their big rivals Red Bull of their star driver. 

“There is no good team for Verstappen to go to right now, but in the long term, we’ll have to see. He’s been in the Red Bull bubble his whole career, and it won’t be easy to recreate that comfortable atmosphere at another team.”

Q. How do you rate Oscar Piastri?

JV: “Oscar Piastri always gives us the impression he’s close to beating Lando Norris, and then he ends up behind him. Sometimes it’s team strategy, sometimes it’s other reasons. Every weekend bar Monaco, he’s up there with Lando and then he drops back. I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him yet, and I expect Piastri to produce the same quality driving that Lando does.”

Q. Will Oscar Piastri ever be prioritised over Lando Norris?

JV: “Lando Norris is ahead of him in his driving, so he will be prioritised. The only way Oscar Piastri can change that is by beating Lando himself and making the team change their priorities. Red Bull would never prioritise Sergio Perez over Max Verstappen, and it’s the same situation at McLaren.”

Q. What can we expect from Kimi Antonelli in F1?

JV: “We haven’t seen enough results from Kimi Antonelli in F2 to make any sort of prediction of how he will fare in F1. Mercedes have been talking him up like crazy, saying he was quicker in testing than George Russell. If that’s the case, why haven’t they already signed him up? The people who know his best level are Mercedes, and they’re trying to promote him, but no other team are going out there way to sign him. That seems weird to me. Antonelli might have the potential to be a great F1 driver, but he’s likely not ready.”

Q. Can Lance Stroll continue driving for Aston Martin with his lacklustre performances?

JV: “Lance Stroll is one of the most deserving drivers to continue racing in F1 because his dad bought the team. Of course, he deserves to be there. Aston Martin’s team could have gone bankrupt if not for Lawrence Stroll, so he deserves to employ his son and keep him in F1, it’s simple. Lance isn’t running last and off the pace, he’s matching Fernando Alonso’s level. The minute Alonso re-signed with the team, he has struggled and Lance has looked the better driver since. 

“Lance knows he’s in F1 because his dad has bought the team, now he needs to show he is quick and he needs to realise there have been other millionaire drivers who had the same privileges, like Ayrton Senna, Niki Lauda and Lando Norris. Lance is lucky, but there’s nothing wrong with that and he needs to show he can race fast.”

Q. Would Williams sign Sergio Perez?

JV: “Sergio Perez has shown he’s not able to win races much more, if not anymore. Williams needs a special driver to take the team to the next level, and I don’t think Perez is that.

“I would do everything in my power to sign Carlos Sainz, give him a mountain of money for five years so there’s a long-term project to get back to winning ways at Williams. If the team is willing to invest that money, then Sainz will be confident in the team’s vision and plan.”

Q. Can Lewis Hamilton win a Championship at Ferrari?

JV: “Lewis Hamilton can definitely win a championship at Ferrari. That team might have the last step that he’s missing at Mercedes to win him another title. Hamilton will need to drive like he did at Silverstone, but more than once a year. At Ferrari, he will have the potential to drive how Max Verstappen does now, and it might boost his mental focus throughout a season as it’s a fresh challenge. It would cement his place in history.”