Lewis Hamilton 'got used to the easy years', feels Jacques Villeneuve as he comments on 7x F1 champion's struggles at Ferrari

Jacques Villeneuve feels that Lewis Hamilton became complacent after winning six drivers' championships with Mercedes, when it was the dominant force in F1 by miles. The 1997 F1 champion believes that Hamilton had a dismal season with Ferrari because of conditioning from his Mercedes stint, when he rarely had any intra-team fights, let alone from drivers of other teams.

In 2025, the seven-time F1 champion struggled to match teammate Charles Leclerc on most fronts. Leclerc out-qualified Hamilton on 19 of 24 race weekends and secured seven podiums, while the Briton had none to show for his efforts.

In a recent appearance on the High Performance podcast, Jacques Villeneuve explained why Lewis Hamilton had the worst season of his F1 career with a new team. When asked what impact 2025 might have had on the Ferrari driver, who seemingly attaches his self-worth to his F1 performance, the Canadian said:

"It's had a big impact because a lot of his championships were won against a teammate, and there was no battle, really. The one he had to fight was against Nico (Rosberg), and he lost. Now he gets into Ferrari, and he has to get back into his fighting ways. It looks like he got used to the easy years. It's hard to get the diesel going again if you back off a bit or take it easy, or think that it's easy."

Villeneuve then compared Lewis Hamilton to his 2021 title rival, Max Verstappen, and explained why the Red Bull driver is better on this front.

"Once you start believing you're untouchable, you slow down, and that's where Max makes the difference. Even a season where Red Bull will win every race easily, he's on it as if that was the last race of the championship and he's behind in the points every single time. So when it becomes tough, and he has to fight, he's used to it. I think that makes a big difference in the process that Lewis has been going through," he added.

Villeneuve elaborated on how easy Lewis Hamilton had it at Mercedes, which was "miles ahead" of its rivals in the turbo-hybrid era because of its supreme power unit. He claimed that the Silver Arrows were the only team that could've won any given race in that era, and that too with any driver on the grid.

F1 champion Lando Norris hoping for an inspirational Lewis Hamilton comeback in 2026

Lewis Hamilton with Lando Norris at the F1 Qatar GP - Source: Getty

Besides Ferrari, his family, and millions of F1 fans across the globe, Lewis Hamilton has one rival rooting for his comeback - 2025 F1 champion Lando Norris. The McLaren driver commented on his idol's struggle at Ferrari, and how he hopes for the 40-year-old to return to winning ways, so that they can have more on-track battles.

After his championship win at the Abu Dhabi GP, while addressing Hamilton's situation, Norris told Sky Sports News:

"We've had a good amount of battles already. I would love to race a bit more with Lewis. Obviously, Ferrari struggled a lot more this year than I think everyone was expecting. Lewis has proved himself to be probably the best of all time. Everyone knows if anyone can bounce back from difficult years, it's Mr Hamilton, and I would love to race against him more."

Lewis Hamilton concluded the season with a P8 result at the Abu Dhabi GP, which Max Verstappen won. The seven-time champion, whose best result was a victory in the Chinese GP Sprint race, finished sixth in the drivers' standings, 86 points behind Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc in fifth.