Villeneuve slams Hamilton-Ferrari flop: 'No chemistry, no results'

Jacques Villeneuve has unleashed a blistering critique of Lewis Hamilton’s lackluster debut season at Ferrari, calling out both the driver and the team for failing to deliver.

Speaking ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, the 1997 F1 champion said the partnership already looks fractured – with little chemistry to hold it together.

Ferrari’s marquee signing was billed as the blockbuster move of the decade, but 14 races into 2025, Hamilton has just 109 points and sits sixth in the standings – 42 points behind Charles Leclerc. For Villeneuve, the reality is brutally simple.

"They're not getting what they signed," he told Sky Sports F1. "So there will be some frustration in there from both camps - from the team, from Lewis - because he's not getting the car he was wanting. He doesn't feel the team is behind him. The team doesn't feel Lewis is with them."

The numbers back that up: Leclerc leads his new teammate 10-4 in qualifying head-to-heads and 11-2 in race results.

No chemistry, no spark

Villeneuve argued the problem isn’t just performance – it’s the lack of connection between Hamilton and the team.

"It's not gelling, and you can hear it when he's communicating with the engineer on race day. There's no chemistry - none at all," the 1997 world champions noted.

"It's as if they're on a different planet and they don't even communicate with each other, but the same is true with Leclerc and his engineer.

"There's something really odd happening in the team that is not progressing in the right direction, and when you hear Lewis's interviews, he doesn't seem excited.

"He doesn't seem to believe what he says. It's as if he doesn't want to go to work. It's really, really strange."

Hamilton himself appeared at breaking point in Hungary, where he qualified only 12th while Leclerc stormed to pole. Branding himself “useless”, he even suggested that Ferrari “probably need to change driver.”

Looking toward 2026 – but is there trust?

Villeneuve believes Hamilton may already have written off 2025 and shifted his focus toward the sport’s next rule revolution.

"Now, 2026 is coming, he knows that will be a new season, this year is done. He's focusing on 2026, but for that you need to make sure that it will be your car, it will be your team,” argued the Canadian.

But Villeneuve warned that unless Ferrari and Hamilton establish genuine chemistry, the reset could mean little.

"But if there's no chemistry, what's the point?" he justifiably questioned.

"The chemistry happens - even in a tough season. That's when you really build it. It's when the going is tough; when things are easy, you don't need to build chemistry - it's easy."

As Ferrari and Hamilton limp toward 2026, Villeneuve’s brazen comments hang heavy, suggesting this is a partnership that’s lost its spark, and the road to redemption looks daunting.

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via X and Facebook