Does Hamilton have the energy to tame the beast that is Ferrari?

Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Hamilton lost control of his Ferrari through Turn 3 on lap 23 while running seventh, his second race in a row without scoring points. Reflecting on the setback, 1997 F1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve questioned whether Hamilton can adapt to Ferrari but insisted he remains capable of turning things around.

Villeneuve told ComeOn Sports media team: “Do champions give up when the going gets tough or do they become stronger? Lewis has hit a hurdle that he wasn’t used to and hasn’t experienced. He spent years in a car so superior that he did not need to be the best Lewis to win. Ferrari has come as a shock, but he is better than the results he’s been getting.”

Amid speculation about Hamilton’s future, Villeneuve stressed that only the driver himself can decide when to stop. He explained: “You retire not because people think you’re not good enough anymore."

He continued: "You retire because you would rather not go to the racetrack in the morning when you wake up. If you’re still competitive and you still have it in you, don’t quit. Find a way.”

Villeneuve believes Hamilton still has the hunger to succeed and compared the challenge at Ferrari to earlier career moves. “When he jumped into McLaren, he was fighting [Fernando] Alonso and managed to impose himself. When he went to Mercedes, we thought it was a mistake, but he turned the team around.

"Ferrari is a different beast to tame. It just depends on how much energy he has left to give it," said the 1997 F1 World Champion, of Hamilton, who has spent 19 seasons in the top flight. The race on Sunday was his 371st Grand Prix start.

Hamilton is enduring his worst season ever, a downward spiral that began in his final two years with Mercedes. Teammate at the German team, George Russell, beat him in 2024. This year, Charles Leclerc, in the other Ferrari, is also getting the better of Lewis. But at Zandvoort, the Monegasque driver also crashed on a nightmare weekend for the great Italian team..

Villeneuve also pointed to a wider issue within Ferrari, highlighting a lack of cohesion between drivers and engineers. “Both Ferrari drivers are not getting on with their race engineers, it’s really odd and damaging the performances of the team. It’s as if they were kept in separate rooms and they don’t even know each other. You need that chemistry between driver and engineer. Right now, it’s as if they’re in different worlds.”

The Canadian contrasted Ferrari with rivals Red Bull, where “even if it’s big and technological, it’s very human. You can tell how the driver and engineer interact.” He suggested Ferrari’s current approach risks treating drivers like commodities rather than building essential trust.

Villeneuve concluded that Charles Leclerc may feel the strain of Ferrari’s struggles more keenly than Hamilton. “Right now there’s no rivalry, the team is not competitive enough as a whole. I think it’s probably more frustrating for Leclerc. Lewis already has his championships. Leclerc might be looking and thinking, ‘I might never be a champion.’ That might be tougher for him.”

For Hamilton, who has yet to stand on the podium in 15 races for Ferrari and now carries a five-place grid penalty into Monza, Villeneuve believes the challenge is clear: find the energy to tame the Prancing Horse, or risk leaving Maranello as another failed chapter in the team’s long history of false dawns.