Not Verstappen Or Hamilton, Ex-F1 Champion Names This Driver As 2025 Favourite

Former world champion Jacques Villeneuve has backed Lewis Hamilton to cement his place at Ferrari while picking Lando Norris as the favourite for the title ahead of the Formula 1 season opener in Australia this weekend. Hamilton moves to Ferrari after a successful 12-year run at Mercedes where he won six of his seven world titles to date. His teammate will be a much younger yet seasoned Charles Leclerc who has been at Ferrari since 2019. Leclerc enjoyed the status of a lead driver until last season. Will it change with Hamilton's arrival?

"Lewis knows how to cement his position inside a team. He got cut out when Russell joined (Mercedes). I think he had become a little bit complacent with all the easy years with Bottas. And he didn't see it coming," said Villeneuve in a select media interaction arranged by FanCode on Thursday.

"But he goes into Ferrari knowing that it's Leclerc's team and he needs to become the team leader. So I think he will be brutal in that aspect. He knows how to win." Ferrari have not won the drivers' title since 2007 despite being the most storied and popular team on the grid. It can be a tough place to work in, said the 1997 world champion.

"Lewis knows how to move a team forward. It will be interesting because Ferrari is not an easy team. There's a lot of pressure from the fans, from the team. It's a very energetic place, but not an easy place to evolve in. And Leclerc knows it really well. And for Ferrari, it's a win-win situation.

"If they win with Lewis, bingo, amazing. If Leclerc beats Lewis, then they manage to create a star out of Leclerc. So right now, I guess they're just waiting to see what will happen," said Villeneuve.

The performance in pre-season testing indicates that Mclaren are likely to carry the momentum they gained in the second half of 2024, making Norris the favourite to beat reigning champion Max Verstappen.

"It's actually quite simple. Definitely Lando as McLaren seems to have made a really strong car. They continue on how they went last year. If you just look at their season and how they progressed, they kept making steps forward. And Lando was the only driver in the field that could step up to Max.

"That was on it every race. So, if he's still in the same mindset, then the season should start strong. But then, obviously, Ferrari will move forward with Lewis there helping the team.So, we'll have to see halfway through the season how it pans out. But the favourite right now is Lando and McLaren," said the Canadian further.

What will also be interesting to see is how Red Bull operate without star designer Adrian Newey who left the team after 19 years to join Aston Martin.

"Adrian Newey was a very key and important part of the Red Bull program. But he wasn't the only one designing the car. He was the head, the top of the pyramid.And that's the most important position. He understands how to work with drivers inside a car as well. So he's not simply an engineer or a designer.

"He also understands the psychology of the human being that actually sits in the car. And that's what made him very good. And he was also very good, well he still is, very good at finding grey areas in the rules and exploiting them to their maximum.

"So getting the most of what was written in the rules. The people in place are still good. They just need to get their rhythm going," said Villeneuve.

It's become much more difficult to be yourself in F1

The former Williams driver was asked about FIA's recent clampdown on driver abuse on the team radio. Himself a colourful personality in his racing days, Villeneuve supported the move but acknowledged that it is difficult to be yourself in the age of social media.

"It's good to be colourful and have personality, but you should still be educated. And I guess that's why there's been a clampdown.I don't know if I agree with the clampdown or not. I don't know if it should be in the rules. But the drivers needed a calming down a little bit because they were swearing every five words.

"And ultimately, you have kids watching. You're an example. So, you should have some form of education, a minimum of it.And that wasn't apparent, which was an issue. But ultimately, it should have been the teams and the sponsors policing their drivers. So, I understand why this came into play.

"Was it the right way? That I don't know. It's a very difficult subject. But it's not only in racing.

"In general now, it's become much more difficult to just be yourself, to be colourful, or to even have an opinion. You're not even allowed to have an opinion nowadays because of all the social media," the 53-year-old added.

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