Villeneuve: Hamilton will be on an emotional rollercoaster at Ferrari
F1 NewsWednesday, 17 July 2024 at 15:40
Lewis Hamilton will be on an "emotional rollercoaster" when he dons the legendary Red of Ferrari predicts Jacques Villeneuve, after witnessing (with the Formula 1 world) the Mercedes driver's rousing and tear-inducing celebrations at Silverstone.
Many records fell on Sunday to Hamilton. It was his ninth victory on home soil, his 104th Grand Prix victory and ending the longest winless streak of his F1 career. In the final season of his 12-year run with Mercedes, before his Ferrari adventure begins.
Next year, F1's Greatest Team welcomes the F1's Greatest Driver of the modern era. The mere announcement that Hamilton would ditch Mercedes to join Ferrari, the 'F1 News of the Century' we dubbed it, raised the Italian manufacturers' shares as much as it rocked not just F1, but sport as a whole.
1997 F1 World Champion Jacques will be mindful of the emotional and drama-packed drama that surrounded his father's time at Maranello. Enzo Ferrari's favourite son Gilles Villeneuve triggered unrivalled emotions among the Tifosi and with the Scuderia itself.
Speaking to the TG Casino media team, 53-year-old Villeneuve reflected on the 2024 British Grand Prix: "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.
Villeneuve: You can tell he was on a roll and in the zone at Silverstone
"Lewis hasn't been in the zone like that for a while," Villeneuve reflected. "Every season he's driven, Hamilton has had ups and downs, he's never had a season like Max Verstappen. There are 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. At 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," explained JV.
Hamilton now has 104 GP wins on his CV, and the 2024 British GP triumph won't be the 39-year-old's last according to Villeneuve: "Silverstone won't be Hamilton's last Grand Prix win. He still has the fire in his belly to perform. Also, the Mercedes has become very quick.
"We will probably see another win for Hamilton this year. Somehow, Mercedes followed the same trajectory as the McLaren. He knows how to drive this version of the car, and he showed that in the last race," reckoned Villeneuve. "
As for the overflowing passion and tears after Hamilton's win at Silverstone, Villeneuve ventured: "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 races 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," warned Villeneuve.
Next up, F1 travels to Hungary then Belgium for the pre-summer break double-header where Mercedes will be looking for three wins in a row. Venues where Hamilton has won nine times (Hungaroring) and four times (Spa-Francorchamps) respectively.
Big Question: Formula 1 win 105 at the Hungarian Grand Prix for Lewis Hamilton?
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