Villeneuve: Lewis is gradually making Ferrari his team.

      Half of the season is behind us, and the official championship website posed several questions to Zak Vällnöv, who participated last week in the Goodwood Speed Festival. Here is how he assesses the current state of Formula 1 races and events outside the track in 2025...

      Question: How do you evaluate the first half of the season?

      Zak Vällnöv, 1997 World Champion: It has been fun and interesting – exactly what we expect from Formula 1. When there's a fight between teammates for the title, it’s good if that team outperforms all the others. When only Max Verstappen is in the running for the title, and the teammate doesn’t match his level, you could say that kills the intrigue.

      But now, the championship fight is between two McLaren drivers, who are taking points off each other. This also gives a chance to their rivals, whose cars slightly lag behind the MCL39 in speed.

      Question: What are your thoughts on the rivalry between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris?

      Zak Vällnöv: They are very different, and that’s wonderful. Both can win the title, and we don’t know who will come out on top in the end. In my opinion, Norris is still slightly faster than his teammate, but he also manages to downplay his own abilities—which might hurt him at some point.

      As for Piastri, he was first penalized at Silverstone, and we saw signs that his attitude towards racing is changing. When you are fighting for the championship, it really changes your approach.

      We have seen Norris in different situations: leading the championship, relinquishing the lead, fighting back—you could say we’ve seen all his qualities manifested. But we don’t know everything about Piastri yet, since we haven’t seen how he behaves in certain circumstances. How that penalty will affect him: will Oscar perform better or worse? I personally want to find out, and I am currently awaiting the outcome.

      Question: Can Max Verstappen and Red Bull already be written off?

      Zak Vällnöv: Max is always ready to fight for wins in some races and for points, but contending for the title is already very difficult for him. It's impossible to drive at the limit all the time—such situations don’t always end in your favor.

      Unless the McLaren drivers ruin everything for themselves or their on-track battles become too aggressive, like in Canada and nearly repeating in Austria… Overall, after Silverstone, one half of the McLaren camp is in disarray, so I’m curious how things will unfold in the upcoming races. And I still don't know who makes the most sense to bet on.

      Question: How do you evaluate Lewis Hamilton’s first half of his debut season at Ferrari?

      Zak Vällnöv: Lewis is gradually but steadily improving, making this team his own. This is very important at this stage of the adaptation process, as he is now working to create more comfortable conditions for himself. He has extensive experience, he knows what to do, and he patiently waits for opportunities to showcase himself.

      It’s been tough for him, but he didn’t give up, which is good. He’s always been characterized by heightened emotionality, but it seems that the main difficulties are behind him, so probably now he will be climbing upward.

      Question: What else are you looking forward to in the second half of the season?

      Zak Vällnöv: I’m curious to see how long Yuki Tsunoda will stay with Red Bull – that’s still a big question. He worked very hard, doing everything to move from a small team to a larger one. He’s a good driver, but the situation he’s in can only be handled by exceptional drivers… You need to be like Lewis, Fernando Alonso, Piastri, or Norris.