Lewis Hamilton is going to quickly realise when he arrives in Maranello at the start of the next season that there’s a whole new level of pressure when you drive for Ferrari.
Frederic Vasseur’s team are nearing 20 years without a championship to their name and that’s unlikely to change this season.
Speaking to GP Fans, former world champion Jacques Villeneuve shared his thoughts on one driver who he never thought was going to be a success during his time with the team.
Very few truly elite drivers go through their entire careers without driving for Ferrari.
If Max Verstappen wins his fourth title as expected this year, he’ll be the only driver to have achieved that feat without stepping into a Ferrari.
Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna are the triple world champions who never drove for Ferrari during their time in Formula 1.
However, it was the arrival of Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari that left Jacques Villeneuve uninspired about their choices.
The German had enjoyed one of the most dominant streaks in Formula 1 history with Red Bull.
Unfortunately, he was unable to replicate that success with F1’s most famous team.
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Jacques Villeneuve was never convinced about Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari
It’s important not to let the final stages of Sebastian Vettel’s Formula 1 career cloud how quick he was during his peak.
After an eye-catching debut with BMW Sauber, Vettel was signed up by Red Bull’s junior team Toro Rosso for two seasons and announced himself to the world by winning their first-ever Grand Prix at Monza in 2008.
That earned him a deserved promotion in 2009 and after finishing runner-up to Jenson Button’s Brawn GP that year, he then established himself as the driver to beat in F1.
Vettel won four straight titles from 2010 to 2013 but regulation changes in 2014 saw the balance of power shift towards Mercedes.
Ferrari saw an opportunity to sign Vettel in 2015 with the promise of giving him a car capable of challenging Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, but Jacques Villeneuve never thought it would work.
In his six years with the team, he managed to finish runner-up to Hamilton twice in the Drivers’ Championship, winning 13 races and securing 55 podium finishes.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t end Ferrari’s growing wait to win a championship and continues to this day…
Jacques Villeneuve gives his verdict on three F1 champions and their relationship with Ferrari
Speaking about the Italian manufacturer, Villeneuve said: “They tried with [Sebastian] Vettel, but Vettel was burnt out by the time he joined Ferrari.
“[Fernando] Alonso had almost worked out, but it became too chaotic.
“Lewis could be the one to finally put the past Ferrari behind and has, and this might be the Ferrari version two. You know you get the biggest driver of all time joining the biggest team of all time.
“It’s hard to make it any better than that at a time when Ferrari needs to start winning again. They need something good going on because they’ve spent the last 10-15 years of ‘almost but no’.
“And every time they bring in either a world champion or a young driver like [Charles] Leclerc or [Carlos] Sainz or someone.
“It will be interesting to see if Lewis manages to do what Alonso and Vettel did not manage to do.
“I never thought Vettel would do it. I thought at the time Alonso might be able to do it because he got close and he was a hard fighter, and Lewis might be the one to do it now.”
Could Sebastian Vettel return to Formula 1 in 2025?
While Villeneuve’s assessment of Vettel’s time at Ferrari may seem harsh, the idea has been floated that the 36-year-old could come back to F1 next year.
Vettel has been linked with Mercedes to replace Hamilton as he heads off to Ferrari.
However, it appears like a long shot right now and Audi have been considering a move for Vettel should they miss out on Carlos Sainz.
There are so many young drivers fighting to earn a spot on the grid, awarding a place to Vettel at this stage seems like a backwards step.
However, it can’t be denied that the German was truly sensational during his time with Red Bull and looked brilliant at times with Ferrari too.
The post ‘Burnt out’: Jacques Villeneuve admits he ‘never thought’ 53-win driver was going to succeed at Ferrari appeared first on F1 Oversteer.
