Former champion reckons Lewis Hamilton could give Ferrari what it needs to get back to winning ways

Former F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve recently opined that Ferrari could be back in winning ways after Lewis Hamilton joins them.

After the 2024 F1 season, Hamilton will end his 12-year partnership with Mercedes and leave for Ferrari. Reports claim that he has signed a multi-year deal with the Italian giants.

While Hamilton enjoyed success at Mercedes during the hybrid era, Ferrari struggled to get back on top and win titles. Ever since 2008, the Prancing Horses have not won any championships, a long wait for the most successful team in F1 history. The last Ferrari driver to win a title was Kimi Raikkonen in 2007.

As quoted by silverarrows.net, Villeneuve initially addressed other great drivers who arrived at Ferrari but were unable to win titles with them. He mentioned that Sebastian Vettel was already burnt out when he joined the team, while Fernando Alonso's stint in the team became chaotic. Villeneuve concluded that Lewis Hamilton could be the driver to bring glory back to Maranello.

“They tried with [Sebastian] Vettel, but Vettel was burnt out by the time he joined Ferrari. Alonso had almost worked out, but it became too chaotic. Lewis could be the one to put that past of Ferrari behind finally,” the Canadian said.

Villeneuve stated that bringing one of the most successful F1 drivers to Ferrari could very well be the best recipe to win.

“This might be Ferrari version 2.0. You get the biggest driver of all time joining the biggest team of all time, it’s hard to make it any better than that, at a time when Ferrari needs to start winning again,” he added.

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F1 pundit reckons Lewis Hamilton would 'quite possibly not' be able to win record-breaking title with Ferrari

F1 pundit Mark Hughes feels the chances of Lewis Hamilton winning his eighth world championship with Ferrari are slim.

Speaking on The Race podcast, Hughes initially said that Hamilton's move to Ferrari is great. He also praised the seven-time world champion and stated that he did not have to prove anything to anyone anymore.

When it comes to winning another championship, however, the F1 pundit feels it won't be possible, especially because the current era has seen Red Bull and Max Verstappen dominate.

"If he's been realistic in the early hours of the night when he's lying there when he's thinking about it, is he going to win another world championship? Quite possibly not. This is possibly a long-term era of Red Bull and Max Verstappen for years to come," Hughes said.

Lewis Hamilton was closest to winning an eighth world championship in 2021 when he was in a close contest with Verstappen. The season ended with Mercedes taking the constructors' title, but Verstappen bagging the drivers' title.