Jacques Villeneuve makes his feelings known on how the Lewis Hamilton-Charles Leclerc could fare at Ferrari

Earlier this week, former F1 driver Jacques Villeneuve spoke about Ferrari's new driver pairing of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, specifically how they have similar objectives but different approaches as they go into the 2025 season. The 1997 F1 Champion also speculated about the British driver's attitude in his first season wearing red.

The Canadian driver said (via Mirror Sport):

"Lewis Hamilton's had no involvement in the development of this Ferrari car whereas he did at Mercedes, and maybe that's why it became tough for him. You could argue it may have been an extra weight for him to carry. At Ferrari, he'll arrive knowing he's had no involvement in the car for 2025.

I think that will make it a little bit easier as he'll have time to adapt and can then make the car his. It seems as if he needs to be loved but I don't know him well enough. It just seems he's very receptive to external noise, both positive and negative."

The F1 Hall of Fame driver also went on to differentiate between Hamilton and Leclerc's attitudes and places in the team going into their new partnership:

"Charles will want to be a world champion and has always been the Ferrari golden boy, but Lewis has nothing to prove - he's won everything already. The only thing missing for him is winning with Ferrari. Sportsmen always need that carrot to chase and something to aim for, though, and becoming the best driver of all time by winning with Ferrari will be just that for him."

Hamilton will replace Spanish driver Carlos Sainz at Ferrari for the 2025 season. He joins the Italian team having won 105 races, achieved 202 podiums, and scored 4862.5 points throughout his career.

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Charles Leclerc talks about what Lewis Hamilton brings to the table in 2025

Charles Leclerc (L) and Lewis Hamilton talk before the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi - Source: Getty

Earlier this year, Charles Leclerc opened up about the effect Lewis Hamilton will have on the team, and the Ferrari driver himself. The Monegasque driver highlighted how the British driver will be a bar against which he compares himself, along with the fact that Hamilton will be raising the drive of everyone on the team.

Speaking on the Beyond The Grid Podcast in August, the 2024 Monaco GP winner said:

“When a champion like Lewis gets to any team, it brings a lot of motivation out of every single person. Obviously for me it's going to be amazing because I’ll have in the same car as me the most successful driver in F1 history. That will be both extremely interesting for me to learn from one of the best ever, as well as a really big challenge and motivation to beat Lewis and to show what I'm capable of."

Leclerc and Hamilton will race alongside each other for Ferrari once the season begins in Melbourne, Australia in March 2025.