Jacques Villeneuve takes a dig at struggling Lewis Hamilton, claims the Briton had an ‘easy car to drive for years’

Jacques Villeneuve reckoned that Lewis Hamilton was struggling because he was not used to a hard-to-drive car in F1.

Jacques Villeneuve takes a dig at struggling Lewis Hamilton, claims the Briton had an ‘easy car to drive for years’

Jacques Villeneuve [L] Lewis Hamilton [R] (images via IMAGO)

Lewis Hamilton is a seven-time world champion. The 38-year-old is statistically the most successful driver in F1 history. However, Hamilton has struggled since the start of the sport’s ground-effect era in 2022 with no wins to his name since 2021. Now, former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve has slammed the British driver.

Villeneuve pointed out that the Mercedes W14 is a difficult beast. The Canadian admitted that the car has a very narrow working window that makes it too tricky for the Silver Arrows to find the right set-up. The former F1 champion reckoned that George Russell had faired better than Hamilton in this regard as the seven-time champion had driven more drivable machinery for many years during the Turbo Hybrid era.

It is a very peaky car with a very small window of operation, and it is pretty hard to set-up. George [Russell] seems to be better at that than Lewis who spent so many years with an easy car to drive.
Jacques Villeneuve said as reported by RacingNews365

Jacques Villeneuve highlighted that Lewis Hamilton enjoyed a far more powerful car and power unit than the rest of the field for a long period. During this time, Mercedes could manage to win a race even if the Silver Arrows had the wrong set-up or a less ideal race strategy. Lewis Hamilton won six world titles in this time between 2014 and 2020.

FS Video
He [Lewis Hamilton] had more horsepower than the rest of the grid and even if they didn't have the right set-up or right strategy, they'd still win

Jacques Villeneuve claims Lewis Hamilton is not used to extracting the last tenth out of his car

The 1977 F1 champion was convinced that Lewis Hamilton was not used to extracting the maximum pace out of the car. The 38-year-old had enjoyed some of the fastest machinery in the sport’s history. Subsequently, it was difficult for Hamilton to get the last tenth out of the Mercedes W14 this season and challenge at the front.

When you have to go back to find that last-tenth, you're not used to it anymore, and you need to get the ball rolling.
Lewis Hamilton (image via IMAGO)
Lewis Hamilton (image via IMAGO)

Lewis Hamilton last won a race at Interlagos in 2021. As such, it has been over two years since the seven-time champion stood on the top step of the podium. Unsurprisingly this is the longest winless streak in Hamilton’s F1 career. However, the British driver remains determined to fight for race wins and win an unprecedented eighth F1 title.

Certainly, Lewis Hamilton still wants to win at the pinnacle of motorsport. The seven-time champion has had two rough seasons with Mercedes. However, the Silver Arrows are going to a vastly different car next season. As such, fans would be hoping that Hamilton can fight for race wins once again behind the wheel of the 2024 Mercedes F1 challenger.

In case you missed it: