Hamilton facing 'emotional rollercoaster' at Ferrari - Villeneuve

Jacques Villeneuve believes it will be an "emotional rollercoaster" when Lewis Hamilton joins Ferrari next season.

The 1997 F1 drivers' champion highlighted Hamilton's victory at the British Grand Prix as proof the 39-year-old is back to his best after enduring a winless drought dating back to December 2021.

Hamilton was noticeably more emotional than usual upon taking the chequered flag at Silverstone, and after the race conceded the mental toll going two-and-a-half years without an F1 victory had taken on him.

The seven-time world champion followed up that success by claiming a second win of the season at the Belgian Grand Prix, just before the summer break.

To Villeneuve, the Mercedes driver's home grand prix win signalled a return of his killer instinct and he now feels Hamilton is well-positioned for the rigours of life at Ferrari.

“Lewis Hamilton will be an emotional rollercoaster at Ferrari," he replied to Instantcasino.com when asked whether Hamilton will be able to cope with the pressure at the Italian team.

"He seems to be very emotional in his driving, in the highs and lows, and it seems to affect him quite a lot. You can tell he was on a roll and in the zone at Silverstone. He hasn’t been in the zone like that for a while.

“Most of the season, it’s looked like Hamilton was accepting defeat to George Russell, which is weird. In Silverstone, his killer instinct was back and he made the difference in the rain. That’s the champion we know, he knows how to take hold of an occasion.”

Hamilton 'won't regret' Ferrari switch

Hamilton's improved form has coincided with Mercedes' return to race-winning ways, which has come after the team has suffered through two relatively uncompetitive seasons by its high standards.

Before his Silverstone triumph, team-mate George Russell took the German marque's first victory since the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix in the previous round in Austria.

With Ferrari faltering of late, and now looking to have slipped behind both McLaren and Mercedes in the fight against Red Bull, some have started to question whether Hamilton will come to regret his decision to leave the Brackley-based team for the Scuderia.

However, Villeneuve does not see it that way and believes if the 105-time grand prix winner can find further success at Ferrari, it will cement his place as the greatest of all time in F1.

“Lewis Hamilton needed a change anyway," he said. 'He won’t regret leaving Mercedes this year.

“Ferrari is the ultimate challenge, and if Hamilton can win a championship with them then he will undoubtedly go down as the greatest of all time, across any generation. 

"It doesn’t matter how many championships Hamilton ends up with because some of his seasons with Mercedes were easy. It’s these challenges that set him apart.”