Villeneuve perceives a 'peculiar' crisis at Ferrari.

Villeneuve perceives a 'peculiar' crisis at Ferrari.

      "Lewis is not sensing the team's support behind him."

      Ferrari's challenging 2025 season continued at Zandvoort while the storied team still holds onto second place in the constructors' championship. Lewis Hamilton, who earlier in the weekend expressed feeling reenergized after calling himself "useless" before the summer break, experienced a 360-degree spin during Friday's practice session. "Not much has changed," the seven-time world champion acknowledged. His teammate, Charles Leclerc, concurred that Ferrari faces a significant challenge ahead. "We’ll need to devise something brilliant overnight," he stated. "It was an extremely difficult Friday, arguably the worst of the season. And we're facing this right after the summer break, so it's a wake-up call for us."

      1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve observes that Ferrari's issues run deeper than just results. "Something isn't working, and it's not solely Lewis; that's evident. But it's Charles as well. A lot of what I’m hearing from them is quite odd," he commented to RTBF. Leclerc has faced accusations from others about losing motivation after years of unfulfilled potential from Ferrari. "How do I keep myself motivated?" the Monegasque replied. "My greatest motivation, when I’m not contending for the title, is to race for Ferrari. It's a team I've always cherished. I want to help them return to the top, whether that's for the championship or, in the short term, to win a race as soon as possible."

      In Hungary, Leclerc began from pole position, but even a podium finish slipped away after Ferrari made mid-race adjustments amid concerns of disqualification. Mercedes' George Russell criticized the team for panicking over plank wear, which Leclerc refuted. "Of course, it is very frustrating to face issues like this when you are competing for victory," Leclerc conceded. "But unfortunately, this has happened before, and it likely won't be the last time."

      Villeneuve, on the other hand, perceives a chemistry issue within the Red garage. "Lewis isn’t feeling the team's support," the Canadian remarked. "The team also doesn’t feel like Lewis is supporting them. It simply doesn’t align, and this disconnect is evident when he speaks with his engineer. There’s no chemistry between them at all." He added, "There’s something quite strange happening in this team that’s not progressing positively. Listening to Lewis’s interviews, it sounds like he doesn’t want to go to work. It's all really odd. With 2026 approaching, Hamilton is already looking ahead to the next season, but to do so, he must ensure that this truly is his team and his car."

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Villeneuve perceives a 'peculiar' crisis at Ferrari.

Formula 1 | Ferrari's challenging 2025 season continued at Zandvoort, despite the legendary team holding onto second place in the constructors' championship. Lewis (…)