Jacques Villeneuve says Lewis Hamilton will bring ‘baggage’ to Ferrari thanks to George Russell

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Lewis Hamilton is currently 36 points ahead of Mercedes teammate George Russell in the championship. That’s despite the fact that Russell has outperformed him in the majority of sessions this year.

Hamilton trails Russell 12-4 in qualifying ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix – one of the largest deficits on the grid. He’s also 8-5 down in the races where both drivers have been classified.

Much of the current points gap stems from scoreless weekends for Russell in Great Britain and Belgium. The 26-year-old retired from the race at Silverstone with a water-system issue, with Hamilton going on to win.

At Spa, Russell impressively executed a one-stop strategy to seemingly win the race ahead of his teammate. But the FIA subsequently found that his car was underweight and disqualified him.

Hamilton therefore inherited the victory, completing a 50-point swing. Russell will feel that the standings don’t reflect the balance of performance, but it’s also true that he’s failed to convert many of his strong qualifying showings into major points hauls.

Jacques Villeneuve says George Russell has dealt Lewis Hamilton a psychological blow before Ferrari move

Speaking on the F1 Show following practice in Baku, 1997 F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve warned that Russell may give Hamilton ‘baggage’ to bring to Ferrari. There are only eight races remaining in their partnership before the Briton heads to Maranello.

Russell may then take on a de facto team leader role at Brackley alongside teenage rookie Kimi Antonelli. He knows he must assert himself against the academy graduate to stave off the threat of being replaced by Max Verstappen for 2026.

Villeneuve says Russell has better adapted to Mercedes’ limitations. He arrived at the start of their slump in 2022, and immediately finished above Hamilton in the standings.

The seven-time world champion has been told that he needs to arrive at Ferrari with a clear head given the ‘chaotic’ nature of the team. He must be seen as a ‘winner’ when he walks through their gates.

“He’s been seen as winning when the car was easily winning,” Villeneuve said. “And when it became hard, Russell was a little bit ahead.

“That’s not baggage he wants to bring with him to Ferrari, who are a little bit of a chaotic team. It’s not an easy team to work in. You want to arrive there as a winner.”

Karun Chandhok on Lewis Hamilton’s ‘very strange’ comments amid George Russell deficit

Speaking after a disappointing P6 on Saturday at Monza, Hamilton said he’s ‘not very good’ in qualifying right now. That might be an insight into the damage Russell has dealt.

Karun Chandhok found it ‘very strange’ to hear those remarks from a driver who’s scored a record 104 pole positions in his career, far more than anyone else. Russell has bagged three poles to Hamilton’s one in the last two and a half years at Mercedes.

Hamilton will face Charles Leclerc at Ferrari next year, another driver who’s supremely fast in qualifying. He ranks third among the current crop for total poles with 25.

But Peter Windsor warned that Leclerc is in for a far greater challenge than he’s been used to alongside Carlos Sainz. It’s one of the most hotly-anticipated battles in F1’s recent history.