Jacques Villeneuve hits the stove as he talks about the future of the British champion of Mercdes.
1997 World Champion of Formula One Jacques Villeneuve asks whether to quit Lewis Hamilton In the middle of his F1 career this season.
Known for his colorful comments, the Canadian shook his opinion to the Dutchman formule1 in the column column he wrote.
Hamilton has started his season poorly. This year’s Mercedes is not as competitive as Hamilton has become accustomed to over the years.
The situation is harsh. Right now, Hamilton isn’t even fighting for race wins, let alone a world championship.
Last weekend in Imola, Hamilton drove one of the worst race weekends of his F1 career. Hamilton was 13th in the race, while a new young teammate George Russell fought in a lousy car just fine for the fourth.
Lewis Hamilton has started his season poorly. AOP
The 37-year-old Hamilton still has a contract with Mercedes for the 2023 season, but Villeneuve says the team’s current pace of performance could kill all of Hamilton’s motivation to win even before that.
Villeneuve highlights in his column the possibility that Hamilton would hit the gloves on the counter as early as this season.
– Will Hamilton survive the whole season? Such a question now arises. In the F1 world, the pressure is huge, Villeneuve begins his writing.
Villeneuve believes that the new situation at Mercedes is already straining the team spirit. Toto Wolffin comments after the Imola race said a lot.
The Canadian champion finds no criticism of Russell, although Hamilton does.
– There’s a risk here when there’s a superstar in the stable. He can’t handle very many lousy weekends like Imola where he also loses to his teammate. The situation in Mersu is not easy. Will you set out to support the stable’s high-paying superstar, glossy boy and record-breaker, or will you focus on developing a car to serve the promise of the future?
Villeneuve believes Hamilton’s position as the brightest superstar in Mersu and the entire F1 world is currently his biggest hanging stone.
The story continues after the picture.
In Imola, Hamilton drove one of the weakest weekends of his career. AOP
– When a star wins, it’s great visibility. But if there is no success, the setback will be much greater. The champion has no right to be uncompetitive.
This raises the question of Villeneuve, which has been shunned.
– Is Hamilton still involved in two or three years? Can he even make it through? It is impossible to get inside the second main booth. It can be really depressed and down when there are no more gains. Then maybe it’s better to think that life is better without racing.
Villeneuve points out that the champion’s march out of the series is no unprecedented thing.
– It has happened before that the champions have just had enough and left the series.
Niki Lauda ended his F1 career for the first time in the middle of the 1979 season. Nico Rosberg shocked the formula world by announcing the end of his career just a couple of days after the 2016 World Cup was confirmed.
Villeneuve himself achieved almost all of his success on the F1 tracks in his first two Williams seasons in 1996 and 1997. His career lasted until 2006, but his profits were no longer blessed.
Villeneuve’s F1 career ended in the middle of the season. However, the decision was not made by the driver himself, but was rudely sidelined by his employer, BMW Sauber. Robert Kubican out of the way.
Jacques Villeneuve is not afraid to shoot colorful comments about events in the formula world. AOP