Ex-F1 champion dissects why Ferrari woes have hit Hamilton hard
Jacques Villeneuve has pointed to what he considers the “easy years” Lewis Hamilton enjoyed at Mercedes as a key factor behind the struggles the seven-time world champion has faced at Scuderia Ferrari.
“It's had a big impact because many championships were won against a teammate.”- Jacques Villeneuve
Speaking on the High Performance podcast, the 1997 world champion explained that Hamilton’s difficulties at Ferrari are partly a result of his time at Mercedes, where he rarely faced strong opposition.
“It's had a big impact because many championships were won against a teammate, and there was no real battle,” he began.
“The one he had to fight was against Nico [Rosberg], and he lost. Now he’s at Ferrari, and he has to get back to his fighting ways, and it looks like he got used to the easy years,” Villeneuve added.
The Canadian drew a comparison between Hamilton and Max Verstappen, highlighting the contrasting approaches of the two drivers, even when dominating.
“It's hard to get the engine going again if you just back off a bit, take it easy, or think that it's easy. Once you start believing that you're untouchable, you slow down, and that's where Max [Verstappen] makes a difference.”
“Even in a season where Red Bull wins every race easily, he's on it as if it were the last race of the championship, and he's behind in points every single time. When it becomes tough and he has to fight, he's used to it, and I think that makes a big difference in the process that Lewis has been going through,” he concluded.
Barichello advises Hamilton
Former Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello advised Hamilton to speak less on the radio to race engineer Riccardo Adami.
The Brazilian highlighted the need for the seven-time champion to remain measured on the radio, to avoid the buzz being generated in the media due to their interactions.
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