“Ferrari will return to the top Leclerc believe in the World Championship”

Formula 1, interview with Jacques Villeneuve, son of Ferrari driver Gilles Ahead of the Montreal GP, the former driver analyzes the problems of the Red team

The interview

/MONTREAL

“Ferrari will return to the top, I’m sure of it.” Jacques Villeneuve spreads optimism. And he puts forward an explanation on the reliability crisis: “The hopping of these machines certainly isn’t good for you.” Could this be why the Rosse broke? «It’s just a hypothesis, but …» Jacques is the 1997 Formula 1 world champion, he is 51 years old and has five children. The last was born on January 21st. «He is called Gilles like his grandfather and he comes with me to all the Grand Prix». He will also be present this weekend in the Canadian GP which is held on the “Gilles Villeneuve” circuit in Montreal.

What is your idea of ​​Ferrari’s reliability problems?

“It is the consequence of a strange regulation. Engine development is stalled until 2025. Before the freeze, engine engineers worked to get more horsepower and performance. Now they can only deal with reliability. Ferrari did the right thing to make up for the disadvantage: now they have to play hard to resolve this fragility ».

Do you think about the hopping caused by the ground effect?

«So far, no one has ever made hypotheses about the consequences of the hopping, which were not foreseen: the cars take continuous blows on the asphalt that certainly hurt the drivers’ backs. The effects on the mechanics are to be discovered ».

IIs the Ferrari championship compromised?

«They have a strong car both in terms of power unit and chassis. The leap forward from last year is proof that they know how to build competitive cars. And then the championship is long ».

We are approaching mid-season: the Canadian Grand Prix is ​​the ninth of twenty-two.

“It is also a statistical question: in a year it happens to everyone to make mistakes or to run into a zero. It has happened to Ferrari twice, now it’s up to Red Bull: the ranking would rebalance immediately. It also happens to the strongest to make mistakes: I remember Michael Schumcher in the years of the invincible Ferrari, or Lewis Hamilton in Mercedes: one day they adopted a strange strategy and everyone said “ooh, how good they are”. In reality they had done a stupid thing, but when you are a second faster lap you don’t notice ».

Did you follow the race in Azerbaijan? What did he think?

«Which cost a lot in terms of points and expectations, from a pole position to a double retirement. As I said, there will be other unforeseen events to rebalance the championship. After all, after three GPs the Red Bulll seemed destined to chase ».

Can driving style affect reliability?

«On modern machines the effect is minimal. Leclerc must not change his driving style, and neither must he blame the team: we lose and win together ».

Easy to say, but has it never happened to you to get angry after a retirement due to a breakdown?

“No. Also because you don’t want the team to take it out on you the day you go to the block. The important thing is that everyone is committed ».

Is driving with the worry that the car might break down frustrating?

«Yes, it happened to me for example in ’99 at the Bar. Something always broke down, and only on my car. I was driving and I thought “toh, in this lap nothing has been broken yet” ».

A prediction for the Montreal race?

«There are the straights that Red Bull likes and the slow corners that favor Ferrari. Pay attention to the hops, because they will have many ».

And for the World Cup?

«Leclerc must never give up. He finally has a car that goes fast, he has to take advantage of it. Never miss opportunities. Think of Hamilton last year and his losing battle against Verstappen. It was thought that this year he would seek revenge, but Mercedes is behind ».

And he is behind the new mate Russell.

«It happened to Schumacher when he returned to Formula 1 against Rosberg, to Alonso with Ocon and now to Lewis. Taking 4 tenths from your partner is a lot: he has to wake up. The much criticized Bottas was not so far apart ».

Still on the subject of Hamilton: do you share his social commitment, now imitated by other drivers?

“Everyone is free to think as they please. In my opinion, sport should be separated from the rest, also because there is always the risk of not knowing what we are talking about ». –

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