Former F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve says Ferrari are “way off” going into this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix.
Ferrari had a nightmare race in Zandvoort after Lewis Hamilton crashed and Charles Leclerc was hit by Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and in addition retired.
Publish-race, Hamilton was given a five-grid place penalty for this Sunday’s race in Monza for failing to gradual sufficiently below double-waved yellow flags on the reconnaissance laps to the grid in Zandvoort.
Ferrari historically carry out strongly on the Italian Grand Prix, even in seasons when they don’t seem to be competing for the championship however Villeneuve is uncertain this time round.
“Normally they have a special engine, special car, but I don’t expect that this year,” he mentioned on Sky Sports activities F1’s newest episode of The F1 Present podcast.
“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.”
There was loads of consideration surrounding Hamilton’s struggles in his first season at Ferrari however team-mate Leclerc has additionally more and more proven his frustration.
Leclerc questioned whether or not Ferrari wanted to pit for a second time in Zandvoort, which offered Antonelli the chance to assault on the banked Flip 3, the place the pair collided.
Villeneuve mentioned: “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.
“Subsequent 12 months is a complete new set of laws and usually that is not when Ferrari is at its finest, so it is a troublesome state of affairs 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 may end second within the Constructors’ Championship, however they really are the fourth horse. They’re merely fortunate that in Crimson Bull, there’s just one driver scoring factors and the identical factor with Mercedes.”
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Vasseur: Hamilton’s confidence is again
Talking earlier than Hamilton’s grid penalty was introduced, Ferrari workforce principal Frederic Vasseur tried to see the positives from Zandvoort.
Hamilton had described himself as “useless” amid his struggles in Hungary on the last spherical earlier than the break, however mentioned upon arriving in Zandvoort that he was targeted on “getting back to enjoying” racing.
The 40-year-old was at the very least in a position to take some solace from the actual fact he was nearer to his team-mate Leclerc when it comes to common tempo all through the weekend and reached Q3 for the primary time because the British Grand Prix in early July.
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“Overall, the reaction from Lewis was good. It was a good recovery after two tough races before the break. But for sure, this was not what we expected,” mentioned Vasseur.
“This has been a lot more positive than the last four or five races. It was much better than what he did in the last race in Budapest. I could see the confidence was back and it was good preparation [for the Italian Grand Prix].”
Hamilton added: “There’s obviously a huge amount of pressure on us as a team [in Monza], and then more so on me now because I haven’t had a good season.
“We’ll simply attempt to take in all of the vitality from the followers.”
Sky Sports activities F1’s Italian GP Schedule
Thursday September 4
2pm: Drivers’ Press Convention
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Look again at a number of the most dramatic moments to have taken place on the Italian Grand Prix
Friday September 5
8.30am: F3 Observe
9.55am: F2 Observe
12pm: Italian Grand Prix Observe One (session begins at 12:30pm)*
1.55pm: F3 Qualifying
2.50pm: F2 Qualifying
3.35pm: Italian Grand Prix Observe Two (session begins at 4pm)
5.15pm: The F1 Present
Saturday September 6
8.10am: F3 Dash
11.15am: Italian Grand Prix Observe Three (session begins at 11:30am)
1.10pm: F2 Dash
2.15pm: Italian Grand Prix Qualifying build-up
3pm: ITALIAN GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING*
5pm: Ted’s Qualifying Pocket book
Sunday September 7
7.10am: F3 Function Race
8.40am: F2 Function Race
10.40am: Porsche Supercup Race
12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: Italian GP build-up
2pm: THE ITALIAN GRAND PRIX*
4pm: Chequered Flag: Italian GP response
5pm: Ted’s Pocket book
*additionally on Sky Sports activities Principal Occasion
The 2025 Formulation 1 season continues this weekend with the Italian Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton makes his first look at Monza for Ferrari, dwell on Sky Sports activities F1. Stream Sky Sports activities with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
