2025-09-04 11:40:43
Jacques Villeneuve believes Ferrari are “way off” ahead of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.
The Former F1 world champion has questioned whether the team will perform as strongly as usual in Monza amid their recent troubles, which saw Lewis Hamilton hit with a five-grid place penalty ahead of the race after failing to slow sufficiently under double-waved yellow flags on the reconnaissance laps to the grid at the Dutch Grand Prix, a race where Charles Leclerc retired.
Speaking on The F1 Show podcast, Jacques said: “Normally they have a special engine, special car, but I don’t expect that this year.
“They are way off. The car is not working. Normally the car is kind of working. It’s in the battle and then they get a little extra for Monza. A little extra won’t cut it right now.”
While Lewis’ struggles in his first season with Ferrari have been well documented, teammate Charles has also shown his frustration and Jacques can understand why.
He said: “Charles is frustrated because he’s probably starting to understand that he will never be world champion. It’s gone bad, it’s gotten worse.
“Next year is a whole new set of regulations and normally that’s not when Ferrari is at its best, so it’s a difficult situation for him.
“He’s been there for a long time and his star has fallen a little bit. At least Lewis can rely on the fact that he’s a multiple world champion so it doesn’t matter if the star falls a little bit. He will always be that big global star anyway, that goes beyond F1.
“They might finish second in the Constructors’ Championship, but they actually are the fourth horse. They are simply lucky that in Red Bull, there’s only one driver scoring points and the same thing with Mercedes.”
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