Like most of the Formula 1 world, Jacques Villeneuve is fascinated by Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari at the end of this season and believes the seven-time World Champion would cement his name as the greatest if he wins an eighth title for the legendary Italian team.
Hamilton's ditching of a two-decade association with Mercedes to join Ferrari is well documented. All his record 104 pole positions and 105 Grand Prix victories were Merc-powered. At Maranello, where they are rolling out the red carpet for him, he starts from scratch.
Villeneuve, whose father Gilles is a Ferrari F1 legend, told the media team at Grosvenor Sport: “That is the next step for Hamilton to become the greatest driver ever. Winning again with Mercedes would not really serve any purpose.
"But winning with Ferrari? There’s nothing bigger in the world after everything he has achieved. When he signed, there was nothing to see. All he could see was where Mercedes had gone. So, it was time to move. And sometimes you go on a hunch, and you jump, and you hope that the other ship is better.
"Then you look like a hero like he did when he went to Mercedes and people were asking, ‘What is he doing? Is he crazy? It turned out to be good.
“When he did sign for Ferrari, nothing was in place like it is now. It wasn't the Ferrari we see today. That's what you have to understand. It is a Ferrari. It's the biggest name in the car or motorsport industry, and Lewis has been the biggest name. So, link the two. Look how the shares went up in Ferrari.
Villeneuve: If Hamilton can win with Ferrari, he will be forever unbeatable
Villeneuve continued: "Winning wth Ferrari, that's it. And he will cement his name. It's very simple. If he doesn't win with Ferrari, he still has got all the records. That would just be the ultimate step. So it's worth taking the gamble," reckons Villeneuve.
Despite winning on home soil at Silverstone and then two races later at Spa-Francorchamps, Hamilton's final year with Mercedes is proving to be forgettable. Both parties, Mercedes, led by team boss Toto Wolff, and Hamilton, are now done with one another. Going through the motions as the 'divorce' date nears.
Asked if Hamilton might be past it based on current form, Villeneuve replied, “Of course, it's not. With everything he's been able to do, he's still capable of doing it. There's no doubt there. Just because it's not working right now with Mercedes doesn't mean that he's lost it.
“His heart and his head are probably somewhere else already! He knew that he couldn't win the championship this year with Mercedes, maybe a race or two, but not the championship. So why put all that energy into building the car and the team for someone else?
“Right now, he's just finishing his contract," thinks Villeneuve, as Hamilton tries to make the most of a car slipping down the pecking order of F1's superpowers that Mercedes still does not understand.
Villeneuve: When you do a big move as Hamilton did, you start afresh
1997 F1 World Champion Villeneuve urges Hamilton to cut all ties with Mercedes when he sets up in Italy: "When you do a big move as Hamilton did, you start afresh; it means you don't go with your old engineer or physiotherapist like Angela Cullen. He has won with McLaren; he's won with Mercedes. So there’s no issue there.
“I have no idea how Angela and Lewis worked together. As far as I was concerned, the driver always relied on his engineer, who was the person that was the closest to him on a race weekend. That was always the person that you, the driver, could lean on, and that's where you build trust. The physio is part of that small group of people that is in the driver’s confidence loop who they rely on.”
Reflecting on his own F1 career that included 163 GP starts and the winner of 11 of those, Villeneuve recalled: "I never had a psychologist or confidante. That all started late in the 90s. I was very proud and old school. And basically, where you have to build yourself on your own, learn from your mistakes, and figure out a way to become better."
Villeneuve: I'm very old school on that
“That was a show of strength," said Villeneuve. "That's how I grew up. That's how I felt it should be. Now it has changed. I'm not saying my way was the right way, but that's how it was in the past. So I'm very old school on that. Ultimately, it helped me when the going was tough.
"When you have to rely on an outside figure, that outside figure is not in the car with you and cannot be present all the way through. You build a few people around you, mainly you engineers, people that you can rely on, and maybe a couple of other persons."
Villeneuve also shared his thoughts on the arrival of teenager Kimi Antonelli in F1 with Mercedes, teammate to George Russell: "Mercedes has had Antonelli as a project for many years for them. They won’t give up on him until Toto is proved right. He is a talented driver. We will just have to see how F1 works out for him.
“The Friday morning FP1 at Monza didn't work out really well. It will be different when it is a proper full race weekend and it's not just a Friday morning where you have to impress. It's not the same approach," explained Villeneuve.
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