Lewis Hamilton will need to feel loved by Ferrari if the Italians are to get the best out of him.

That’s the view of former Formula 1 champion Jacques Villeneuve, who thinks the seven-time title winner’s struggles in his final few seasons at Mercedes may have been because he was carrying an “extra weight”.

Hamilton joins Ferrari next month and will have turned 40 by the time he races for his new team for the first time. And while his final season had some notable highs, including wins at Silverstone and in Belgium, his final few weeks in particular were difficult.

For the past three seasons Mercedes were only able to provide Hamilton and team-mate George Russell with temperamental cars which were not consistently quick enough to challenge for titles. And Villeneuve believes the Brit may have felt some internal frustration over his own role in that.

“He needs the right car,” he told Mirror Sport , via SportsCasting, when asked about Hamilton’s chances of fighting for an eighth F1 title with his new team.

“He’s had no involvement in the development of this Ferrari car whereas he did at Mercedes, and maybe that’s why it became tough for him. You could argue it may have been an extra weight for him to carry. At Ferrari, he’ll arrive knowing he’s had no involvement in the car for 2025.

“I think that will make it a little bit easier as he’ll have time to adapt and can then make the car his. It seems as if he needs to be loved but I don’t know him well enough. It just seems he’s very receptive to external noise, both positive and negative.”

Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc will be Ferrari team-mates in 2025 (
Image:
HOCH ZWEI/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)
In particular, Hamilton lacked one-lap pace this season and his qualifying record was significantly inferior to that of team-mate Russell. In 2025, he will be partnered with Charles Leclerc who is widely regarded as one of the quickest drivers on the grid over one lap.

But Villeneuve insists: “Charles will want to be a world champion and has always been the Ferrari golden boy, but Lewis has nothing to prove – he’s won everything already. The only thing missing for Lewis is winning with Ferrari.

“When you have so many wins and world championships to your name already, it won’t change his life. Sportsmen always need that carrot to chase and something to aim for, though, and becoming the best driver of all time by winning with Ferrari will be just that for him.”