Jacques Villeneuve believes Lewis Hamilton shares ‘extreme’ trait with Ayrton Senna that no one ever talks about

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Lewis Hamilton hasn’t started life at Ferrari in the way he would have liked following his move from Mercedes over the winter break.

The Belgian Grand Prix represents Lewis Hamilton’s 13th attempt to secure his first podium for Ferrari, excluding Sprint races.

The 40-year-old will be keen to point to his previous successes as a reason why Ferrari fans should keep their faith in him.

In the four races leading up to Spa, Hamilton had outqualified Charles Leclerc on three occasions and would have been very frustrated that Nico Hulkenberg denied him a visit to the podium at Silverstone last time out.

Leclerc was full of praise for Hamilton after the British Grand Prix, and it highlighted that even when he’s not at his very best, there’s a reason why he’s a seven-time drivers’ champion.

Drivers like Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna before him always find a way to win no matter the situation.

Jacques Villeneuve believes he’s pinpointed what made Hamilton and Senna such difficult opponents at their peaks, and why their closest rivals attracted so much more attention than they did in the media for it.

READ MORE: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton’s life outside F1 from net worth to family

Lewis Hamilton and Ayrton Senna the experts at putting pressure on their F1 teammates

Villeneuve was asked on The Red Flags Podcast about the ‘savviness’ of Senna and his biggest rival, Alain Prost and explained: “Senna was as bad as Prost, except that you didn’t see it. It’s just different.

“Same thing, if you take Hamilton, he’s extreme in that, but you don’t see it.

“And when he was teammates with Rosberg, it was obvious what Rosberg was doing.

“So everybody started being angry at Rosberg, and he was so mean, whereas Hamilton was doing it to an even bigger level, but in a very discreet way, and this is the best.

“But you know, when you want to win and the person you’re fighting is your teammate, you have to; it’s part of the game.

“That doesn’t mean you do anything that’s overly nasty, but you have to play some games, put some pressure [on]. Sometimes they’re political because you need to get a little edge.”

READ MORE: All to know about Ayrton Senna including Alain Prost rivalry and Imola crash

Alain Prost recalls his ‘fantastic’ rivalry with Ayrton Senna

Hamilton and Rosberg’s final season as teammates was extremely tense as they both tried to win the title for Mercedes.

Rosberg called Hamilton the ultimate benchmark during his time in Formula 1, and immediately retired after winning the championship in 2016.

Mercedes had to swap their garage crews during that campaign, such was the tension building between Hamilton and Rosberg’s camps, but it almost pales into comparison to Senna and Prost’s rivalry.

Senna and Prost were teammates at McLaren and collided twice at Suzuka, each earning a title as a result.

After the event, Senna admitted he regretted taking Prost out at the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix, but his disqualification the year before never sat right with the Brazilian.

Prost recalled his relationship with Senna at the 2025 Goodwood Festival of Speed and spoke very positively about the three-time world champion.

However, at the peak of their frustration, Prost blocked Senna’s dream move to Ferrari, and Hamilton will be hoping to win the title with the Scuderia that he never got the opportunity to pursue.