"When things get tough, he goes down": F1 legend's damning verdict on Lewis Hamilton's Ferrari stint

Lewis Hamilton is considered to be one of the greatest drivers in F1 history, but he has garnered some condemnation from former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve. The 54-year-old was unhappy with the Briton's inconsistency and his tendency not to score good results after a few subpar seasons recently.

Hamilton was the vice-champion in his rookie year in F1 and won the drivers' crown for the first time the subsequent year. With McLaren dropping off its form and reliability, he moved to Mercedes in the ambition of more success.

The 40-year-old then secured six world championships between 2014-2020, a streak only once halted by his teammate, Nico Rosberg. However, a downturn in Mercedes' performance charts led him to jump ship to Maranello and don the elusive Scuderia overalls for the 2025 season.

The Briton arrived with seven world titles to his name and over a hundred race wins and pole positions each. Despite this, his performance at Ferrari often trailed Charles Leclerc, despite an early-season Sprint win in China.

Sharing his thoughts on how Lewis Hamilton has had a rollercoaster season and needs to get his things sorted, Jacques Villeneuve said on the Red Flags podcast:

"We had a glam glimpse of it in China. He got it on pole, when the car shouldn't have been on pole, and then in the sprint race [he] carried that to a win. And then there was another race where he go back. I can't remember where, but in general, you can see that when things go a little bit wrong, a little bit tough, he goes down. He has a real hard time to keep his head above the water." (22:30 onwards)

On the other hand, Hamilton is the sole driver in F1 to have scored podiums for 18 seasons in succession, a streak which could break this year if he does not score a top-three finish by the end of the year.

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Lewis Hamilton felt like a podium was within his bounds at the British GP

Lewis Hamilton at the qualifying for the 2025 F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain - Source: Getty

Lewis Hamilton's arrival at Ferrari was seen by many as the joining of the two biggest forces on the F1 grid. However, this coalition has not achieved the results so far that the paddock had anticipated.

Moreover, Hamilton was on course to secure a podium at his home soil with the prancing horse, but the SF-25 was a handful of a car to drive, halting him from displacing Nico Hulkenberg from the podium (via Ferrari):

"Not the result we were hoping for today but we’re continuing to grow as a team and I’m also getting more in tune with the car. Third place felt within reach at times but credit to Nico on his first podium, he drove a strong race."

The Briton sits seventh in the drivers' standings after 12 rounds of racing, behind the McLaren duo of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, George Russell, and Charles Leclerc.