Jacques Villeneuve Blasts Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc For “Destroying Ferrari’s Race” in Chinese GP

Jacques Villeneuve fired shots at Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc for ruining a potential P2-P3 finish at the Chinese GP.

Jacques Villeneuve Blasts Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc For “Destroying Ferrari’s Race” in Chinese GP

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton (via F1), Jacques Villeneuve (via Planetf1)

In Short
  • Jacques Villeneuve criticized Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc for their intense battle, claiming it ruined Ferrari's race strategy.
  • Hamilton secured his first podium with Ferrari, finishing third, while Leclerc ended up fourth after losing time in the fight.
  • Lewis Hamilton acknowledged Ferrari's improved performance but noted they are still not where they want to be in the competition.

Ferrari was the second-best team at the Chinese GP. Both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc finished on the second row, with Hamilton achieving his career-first podium finish with Maranello. Though the Italian constructor fell short in competing against Mercedes’ dominant pace in China. Now, the 1997 F1 champion, Jacques Villeneuve, fired some shots at both Ferrari drivers because of their intense battle.

Throughout the Chinese GP, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton put forth an extremely close battle for the P3 finish. Hamilton eked out better results and managed to achieve a podium finish. However, the two were fighting for P2 at one point, while George Russell managed to swoop in and overtake both Ferrari drivers. However, a P3-P4 finish was probably the best result that the Scuderia could’ve achieved in Shanghai.

Jacques Villeneuve believed that Ferrari was on the trajectory to finish in P2 and P3 if it weren’t for Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton’s intense battle. The Canadian reckoned that the results were ultimately fair for Hamilton, especially as he beat his teammate. However, Villeneuve pointed out that the battle between the two destroyed Ferrari’s race and cost Leclerc a podium finish in China.

Well, it was fair because he finished third, so and he managed to beat his team-mates, so yes, it turned out OK, but it was a little bit extreme, and it destroyed Ferrari’s race, They were running second and third.

Jacques Villeneuve told Sky Sports F1.

Further, Jacques Villeneuve recalled how Lewis Hamilton overtook Charles Leclerc on the braking, and also braked quite late. The two drivers then destroyed their tires while fighting for the position, ultimately opening them up for an attack from George Russell. Villeneuve continued that the duo of Ferrari lost over five seconds to Kimi Antonelli, ruining their winning chances further.

He did it on the braking, quite late, and then they were fighting so hard, destroying their tyres, and in those two laps they lost five seconds to Antonelli.

Jacques Villeneuve added.

Lewis Hamilton reveals Ferrari ‘not where they want to be’ despite podium finish in China

Certainly, Ferrari is looking much stronger in performance compared to the previous years. Though the Italian constructor is no match for Mercedes, they are still consistently fighting for a podium finish. Following development over the season, Maranello can definitely fight for race wins in the upcoming races. However, Lewis Hamilton brutally accepted that the team still wasn’t where they wanted to be.

Lewis Hamilton (via F1)
Lewis Hamilton (via F1)

Lewis Hamilton accepted that Mercedes was really pulling ahead of the competition at the moment. The Briton thanked the entire crew at Maranello for developing such a competitive challenger. Hamilton continued that Ferrari wasn’t really where they wanted to be, as they wanted to keep fighting for race wins. Regardless, the Italian constructor had a great platform to develop on and keep improving performances.

They’re really pulling ahead at the moment, I’ve got to say a huge thank you to everyone at Ferrari, everyone back at Maranello for getting us into this position. I know it’s not exactly where we want to be. We want to be up front where these guys are, but we’ve got a great platform to work off and we’ve just got to go literally full gas.

Lewis Hamilton noted.

The 2026 season has begun on the right note, especially for Ferrari and Mercedes. McLaren and Red Bull are yet to unlock their full potential and are struggling in terms of performance. Despite the uncertainties, the racing action has been exciting for the most part.

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