Jacques Villeneuve says Ferrari did something that wasn’t ‘normal’ before Lewis Hamilton win

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Jacques Villeneuve has praised the bravery shown by Ferrari before Lewis Hamilton’s victory at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

Ferrari hadn’t won a race since the 2024 Mexico City GP, Carlos Sainz’s last victory for the team. Since then, they had scored 16 podiums but always been outwitted by McLaren, Red Bull or Mercedes.

The Scuderia have been the nearest challengers to the dominant Mercedes team so far this year, but their performance in Barcelona suggests they may be legitimate title contenders rather than simply the ‘best of the rest’.

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Jacques Villeneuve loves the ‘aggressive’ Ferrari he saw at Barcelona Grand Prix

Speaking on Sky Sports F1 after the race, Villeneuve commended Ferrari for being bold with their strategy. The 1997 F1 world champion feels they play it safe too often.

Hamilton was one of only two drivers in the top 10 to start on the soft tyres, alongside Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

He then made a fairly early pit stop on lap 12, forcing Russell to follow suit to avoid an undercut. Engineer Carlo Santi told him that they were pivoting to ‘plan C’ – clearly a three-stop – as his rivals stayed on a two.

Ferrari’s strategy team have previously been criticised for being passive, with suggestions that engineers are afraid to take risks. A virtual safety car triggered by Fernando Alonso’s retirement saved them over 10 seconds with their final stop, but Villeneuve saw that as aggression being rewarded.

“Ferrari did what they don’t normally do,” he said. “They didn’t settle for second, they went aggressive, they took a big risk where it looked like, all in, ‘second, we don’t care’.

“Then it played into their hands. Look at the gap he built at the end.”

Indeed, Hamilton’s winning margin – 19.5 seconds – was the largest of the season, even though the race was neutralised late on by a VSC after Kimi Antonelli’s retirement.

‘How will they react?’ – Jacques Villeneuve’s concern about Mercedes duo vs Lewis Hamilton

The combination of Hamilton’s win and Antonelli’s DNF narrows the gap at the top of the championship to 41 points, bringing the British driver firmly into play.

Ferrari’s Barcelona upgrade was impressive but Mercedes must still remain heavy favourites after six wins out of seven and an unbeaten qualifying streak.

However, Villeneuve is unsure whether the Silver Arrows duo, neither of whom have fought for an F1 title before, can cope with the ‘pressure’ of potentially taking on the sport’s most successful driver.

“Things can go wrong,” he said. “The pace is there. We don’t know how much the other two drivers will be under pressure from Lewis Hamilton. How will they react?”