Charles Leclerc just made Jacques Villeneuve look silly after bizarre Lewis Hamilton ‘shadow’ claim

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Charles Leclerc enjoyed his best qualifying of the 2025 Formula 1 season so far at the Japanese Grand Prix. Leclerc took fourth on the grid, four spots ahead of Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton.

The Monegasque was seventh at the season opener in Australia and only one position better in China. But he may have made a breakthrough at Suzuka, even if he was still three-tenths off surprise pole-sitter Max Verstappen.

Leclerc entered the weekend down in 10th in the championship, albeit only a point behind Hamilton. He was disqualified from the Chinese GP after his car was found to be underweight.

Hamilton surprisingly outpaced Leclerc over a single lap in Shanghai, just his second race with the Scuderia. The seven-time world champion won the Sprint, though he did drop behind the sister car during the Grand Prix.

Jacques Villeneuve declared that Lewis Hamilton had taken Ferrari away from Charles Leclerc

Speaking on Sky Sports before qualifying, 1997 F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve declared that Hamilton had already taken control at Ferrari. He justified the pre-season hype with his Friday and Saturday performances last time out.

Villeneuve’s colleague, Simon Lazenby, couldn’t believe that he’d make such an emphatic statement after just two races. Their exchange went as follows.

Villeneuve: “It’s not such a short-term, one-year project, so the first thing he has to do, which he’s already done almost, is take over the team, make the team his, take it away from Leclerc and become the man.

Lazenby: “Hang on, hang on, you think he’s taken the team away?”

Villeneuve: “He has to, because all winter the only talk was Lewis and Ferrari. That put a little bit of a shadow [on Leclerc]. But then he had to do it on the track. He got a pole, he got a win, the team is his.”

Lazenby: “What? After two races, you’d be that confident to say that?”

Villeneuve: “When you’re Lewis Hamilton, it goes quick.”

Leclerc would immediately silence the former Williams driver with an authoritative qualifying display. He was three-tenths faster than Hamilton, taking a 2-1 lead in the Saturday qualifying head-to-head.

Nicknamed ‘Il Predestinato’, he’s been with Ferrari since 2019. He knows his partnership with the sport’s most successful driver will be legacy-defining.

Lando Norris was spot on about Lewis Hamilton’s biggest problem at Japanese Grand Prix

It’s bizarre that Villeneuve would be so dismissive of Leclerc at such an early stage in the season. But critical comments of this nature will only add to the 27-year-old’s motivation.

Based on qualifying, Lando Norris is right about Hamilton. Norris said that Ferrari weren’t yet in a position to match McLaren because his fellow Briton is still learning about the car.

Hamilton may have lowered his expectations for Ferrari, who have lost significant ground to their rivals already. A first title since 2008 looks unlikely at this stage.

Even after a strong performance, Leclerc wasn’t in a position to contend. Fred Vasseur’s team are under major pressure to deliver with their first upgrades of the season.