Jacques Villeneuve accuses Lewis Hamilton of ‘destroying’ Ferrari’s race despite podium finish

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Lewis Hamilton finally stood on the podium in Ferrari colours at the Chinese Grand Prix today, but former F1 driver Jacques Villeneuve has accused the seven-time world champion of ‘destroying’ Ferrari’s race through his battle with teammate Charles Leclerc.

It took a lot longer than was first anticipated upon Lewis Hamilton’s arrival in Maranello last year, but the 41-year-old has finally claimed his first top-three finish for Ferrari after taking the chequered flag in P3 at the Chinese Grand Prix.

The plaudits go to Kimi Antonelli, but who else in the top 10 impressed you at the Chinese Grand Prix?

Let us know in the comments below!

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Other than an opening lap that saw Hamilton snatch the lead off the line, thanks to Ferrari’s best-in-class turbo unit, Kimi Antonelli looked practically untouchable as he stretched out a sizeable gap to the rest of the field on his way to a maiden F1 win.

George Russell’s P2 secured another one-two finish for Mercedes this season, but 1997 F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve believes that Ferrari could have prevented it from happening if Hamilton hadn’t “destroyed” Charles Leclerc’s race in an earlier battle.

• READ MORE: Kimi Antonelli wins the Chinese Grand Prix with George Russell securing second one-two for Mercedes

Jacques Villeneuve accuses Lewis Hamilton of ‘destroying’ Ferrari’s Chinese Grand Prix

During his duties as a pundit for Sky Sports F1 at the Chinese Grand Prix, Villeneuve was asked for his thoughts on Hamilton’s post-race comments in which he deemed his battle with Leclerc to be fair.

The Canadian picked out an issue with the seven-time world champion’s words, saying, “Well, it was fair because he finished third, and he managed to beat his teammate.

“So, yes, it turned out okay, but it was a little bit extreme, and it destroyed Ferrari’s race. They were running second and third.

“Then they were fighting so hard, destroying their tyres. And in those two laps, they lost five seconds to Antonelli.”

Villeneuve is under the impression that Ferrari have a genuine chance of usurping Mercedes as the best team on the grid this year, but has issued a stern warning that a ‘let them race’ attitude will eventually have consequences in the F1 standings.

He added, “At some point, if they keep taking lap time away from each other like this, it will allow Mercedes to get away. And they’re not that far from Mercedes, with a car that can race.

“So, Mercedes should worry a little bit about Ferrari coming back, because they’re not that far behind them in points.”

• READ MORE: Charles Leclerc claims Lewis Hamilton battle is a ‘fantastic’ sign for Ferrari this season

Anthony Davidson thought the Ferrari battle was a good advertisement for the new F1 regulations

Sky Sports F1’s Anthony Davidson saw a completely different side to Hamilton’s battle for supremacy with Leclerc.

Instead of it being a negative for Ferrari as a whole, the 46-year-old noted how it was actually a good advertisement for F1’s new regulations, which have taken some heat in recent months.

He said, “These regulations have allowed for the driver to take matters into their own hands and kind of use the boost button and battery in random places around the lap to create this, what I see as fun racing, and the chance to actually see some overtakes.”