Villeneuve: Ferrari completely lost and need some direction

Hamilton was only good for P8 and Charles Leclerc P9 after the Monegaque crashed in Qualifying, ending a weekend that exposed the gulf between Ferrari’s Friday promise and Saturday–Sunday reality. Lewis was perplexed by the vanishing pace that had him dreaming of a 105th pole position start.

But the seven-time F1 World Champion was only good for P12 on the timing screens after the Qualifying crashfest on Saturday. Among the bent metal was the #16 Ferrari of Leclerc, who had another too-close encounter with those ancient Baku walls.

Jacques Villeneuve reflected on the Maranello squad’s dismal weekend and their current plight, arguing that Hamilton was right to ignore team instructions and that Ferrari now need to redirect their energy towards 2026.

“Lewis Hamilton played it well. He played it really well. Ferrari asked Leclerc to let Lewis by, but they didn’t need to. Lewis then, on the new tyre, was so much quicker anyway he would have overtaken him. So, the team orders were unnecessary. So, I guess that’s why Lewis didn’t really want to let him by again,” Villeneuve ventured.

The 1997 World Champion was blunt about Ferrari’s trajectory since Fred Vasseur’s contract extension. “There was the big announcement that Fred Vasseur was signed again. And then the team just went down after that.

"When Vasseur got re-signed, that took some of the stress away from the team, because at least they had some continuity. But since then, the team has been going downhill. Because Monza was supposed to be the perfect weekend for Ferrari, and it wasn’t.

"And in the past, Baku has been a great track for Leclerc at least, and it’s been one of their worst weekends this year. So that’s two very bad weekends in a row since the summer break.

"And then Zandvoort wasn’t good either. Normally, Ferrari always comes back from the summer break stronger, and it’s been appalling, the three races from the break," Villeneuve pointed out, as Ferrari have now dropped to P3 in the 2025 F1 Constructors standings, behind Mercedes and soon to be champions McLaren in P1.

The Canadian motorsport veteran believes the great Italian team are at risk of amplifying their struggles because of Hamilton’s stature: “Ferrari are completely lost right now and obviously need some direction. Lewis is big there. They took a risk by going together because if the team doesn’t go well with the image that Lewis and the attention that Lewis brings to the team, it makes it even bigger.

“Whatever is good or whatever is bad is amplified by having Lewis there. When races go wrong, a season goes wrong, it looks worse than it is and vice versa. That’s what Lewis also brings to the table and that’s the gamble Ferrari took and Ferrari has the same effect on the driver. They just compound and double the effect. It’s always been like this with Ferraris. It’s either great or awful to a bigger extent. But when you put Lewis in it, this is even a bigger concept.”

Villeneuve argued that Ferrari must already be turning their attention to the new regulations: “There’ve been some really really bad Ferrari seasons, but we didn’t notice them as much. But it’s one season. Let’s not forget next year it almost starts from zero for everyone.

“So, it could be a perfect beginning for Ferrari next season. They get to the first race, the engine is great, the car is fantastic, and it takes a while for everyone else to catch up. That’s what they must have in their mind right now. I don’t think they’re focusing on the rest of 2025. 2026 is coming.”