Jacques Villeneuve does not expect to see much cooperation between the two Ferrari drivers in the race: after their very aggressive duel during the Sprint, he believes that internal rivalry will take priority.
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1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve was enthusiastic about Lewis Hamilton’s much more positive attitude during the Chinese Grand Prix weekend, believing that this state of mind is directly reflected in his on-track performance with Ferrari.
Hamilton equaled his best Grand Prix qualifying result since joining Ferrari by placing third on the grid, behind the two Mercedes cars. The seven-time world champion beat his teammate Charles Leclerc by just 0.023 seconds.
Hamilton better than Leclerc in Shanghai
The Briton had already taken the advantage over Leclerc during Sprint qualifying, where the Ferraris placed fourth and sixth. This is the first time since the Canadian and Spanish Grands Prix last year that Hamilton has dominated his teammate in two consecutive qualifying sessions.
Hamilton was also particularly enthusiastic for Kimi Antonelli, who became the youngest pole-sitter in Formula One history. For Villeneuve, this reaction perfectly illustrates the Ferrari driver’s new mental dynamic.
“It’s nice to see Lewis like this, he told Sky Sports F1. There are two Lewises. When he’s positive like that, he’s almost unbeatable. We saw it today: he beat his teammate, who is a qualifying specialist. He’s older, he has a lot of experience, but he still has that energy.”
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According to Villeneuve, the situation was very different last year, when Hamilton’s state of mind negatively influenced his performance: “There is also the Lewis like last year, who sinks and drags a lot of negative energy with him. It’s never nice to see. If he can stay like this all season, he will be a real force to be reckoned with.”
Fratricidal duel
Despite being 41 years old — making him the second oldest driver on the grid — Hamilton remains extremely difficult to beat when he is in a positive dynamic. Even a fast-lap specialist like Leclerc failed to beat him in Shanghai, a circuit that the Monegasque himself considers one of his least successful.
“Look at the Sprint, the Canadian pointed out. Look at how aggressive they were towards each other. Each of these two drivers wants to be the Ferrari man, the one who writes history. There is no mutual aid.”
According to him, the two drivers place more importance on beating their teammate than on maximizing the team’s collective results: “They don’t want their teammate to win a race. What matters is beating their teammate, he concludes. They are happier being third and fourth than helping their teammate finish first.”
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