Ferrari is missing Carlos Sainz claims Jacques Villeneuve as his replacement Lewis Hamilton's crash in Dutch GP becomes the talking point

Former F1 driver Jacques Villeneuve feels Ferrari is missing Carlos Sainz, reacting to Lewis Hamilton's performance at the Dutch GP. He claimed that the drivers have unlocked the car's maximum potential and that the SF-25 is not competitive out on the track.

Villeneuve claimed that Hamilton had a very positive weekend in the Netherlands until his crash. He stated that the drivability of the car improved quite a bit, compared to how it was early in the season; however, it cannot be improved any further.

He feels that both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have unlocked the car's maximum potential, and it cannot improve any further after this.

"He was happy during that weekend, though," Villeneuve said. "He was driving well, better than he has been for a while. He was generally ahead of his of Leclerc, or until some of quali, and his car seemed for once a little bit easier to drive for him. So he was handling it properly. It's just that's the limit of the car. The drivers cannot do more than that. The car doesn't have performance."

He further suggested that the team might be missing Carlos Sainz and his work on the car. Villeneuve claimed that a trend follows around the Spaniard, considering his contribution within the teams he drove for.

"Maybe they're missing Carlos Sainz at Ferrari," he added. "Ultimately, we're seeing who was working on the team. And we kept saying, every time Carlos joins a team, the team goes up, every time he leaves it, that team goes down. And that happened again. Williams has been going up, Ferrari has been going down."

Lewis Hamilton has failed to deliver a competitive performance with Ferrari this season. His best finish is still a P4, and he hasn't been able to clinch a podium during any of the races. His only highlight has been the Sprint victory in China.

---

Lewis Hamilton reveals "pressure" on the team ahead of Monza

As Ferrari's struggles this season continue, the team is prepared to race at their home in Monza. They will hit the track in a special livery, celebrating the 50th anniversary of their former driver, Niki Lauda's 1975 World Championship win.

However, there is much pressure on Ferrari, as Lewis Hamilton revealed, considering their performance so far in the season. He admitted that he hasn't had a good season so far, adding:

"There's obviously a huge amount of pressure on us as a team," he said (via Motorsport.com). "More so for me now because I haven't had a good season. Next week we'll just try to absorb all the energy from the fans."

Ferrari is yet to win a race this year. Charles Leclerc has delivered multiple podium finishes, including a P2 in Monaco. He was also in contention for a race win in Hungary; however, he lost pace during his second stint and finished in fourth place. The team sits in second place in the Constructors' Championship with Mercedes chasing them down.