Jacques Villeneuve: Ferrari is the new Mercedes!

Two wins and a second-place finish in the first three races of the season enabled Charles Leclerc to lead the individual standings with a 34-point lead over the closest pursuer. 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve sees Ferrari showing signs of dominance that Mercedes has had in recent years.

Jacques Villeneuve: “In Italy I often get the question whether Ferrari really has a chance this year. It’s hard for the team’s fans to believe what’s happening and they’re waiting for something to go wrong again. They got used to it during the days of Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel. Now, however, Ferrari is very fast. In fact, Ferrari is the new Mercedes!

At Red Bull everyone is disappointed, there is no other way. They have a fast car, but it is difficult to drive. Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez must do everything they can to squeeze an extra tenth out of the car to fight Ferrari.

The Ferrari car is much faster and easier to drive, it is easier to tune. And even if something goes wrong for them on a weekend, they will still lead the way, just with a smaller advantage. Psychologically it is difficult for Red Bull.

They are used to chasing Mercedes, but now they are champions, which creates extra pressure. In the individual standings, both their riders should be in the top four and in the Constructors’ Championship the team should take second place, but in reality this is far from the case.

Pension is very expensive for Max Verstappen, also because Leclerc continues to win. Now he has the situation under control. Obviously there are 20 races ahead and much to do, but the team is backing him, his partner is behind and in the individual standings he is well ahead of main rival Verstappen.