Jacques Villeneuve says Ferrari ‘destroyed’ Chinese GP with Hamilton v Leclerc fight

Jacques Villeneuve believes Ferrari threw away any chance of challenging Mercedes in China — as Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc fought each other instead.

Hamilton and Leclerc put on a thrilling display at the Shanghai circuit as they battled for position, neither willing to give an inch in a fight that was eventually won by Hamilton for his first Ferrari podium.

Jacques Villeneuve criticises Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc battle

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Although Hamilton and Leclerc lined up behind the Mercedes teammates on the grid, they were first and third into Turn 1 as Ferrari capitalised on its epic launches. Hamilton, though, wasn’t P1 for long, with Antonelli powering past on lap two.

That started an intra-team Ferrari battle for second place, Hamilton and Leclerc trading positions, while Russell lurked in the background. That gave Antonelli breathing room, and the Italian pulled away before Russell also pounced to make it a Mercedes 1-2.

All the while, Hamilton and Leclerc went at it over third place.

The battle resumed after a Safety Car restart, Russell fighting the Ferraris for position. Once he was ahead, they continued to race one another. It meant that, instead of sticking with the Mercedes drivers, Hamilton and Leclerc lost ground in the battle.

Hamilton made the final definitive pass on Lap 40, but it was too late to chase down the leading W17s and he finished the race 25s down on F1’s newest race winner, Antonelli, with Leclerc a further three seconds back.

Reaction to the Ferrari teammate battle at the Chinese Grand Prix

Fred Vasseur admits Ferrari risked looking ‘completely stupid’ during Hamilton–Leclerc fight

‘What’s Leclerc doing?’ – Untelevised Russell team radio after ‘aggressive’ Hamilton battle

Villeneuve reckons the battle between the Ferrari teams was a “little bit extreme”, and it cost them in the fight against Mercedes.

“Well, it was fair because he finished third, and he managed to beat his teammate,” the 1997 world champion told Sky F1.

“So, yes, it turned out okay, but it was a little bit extreme, and it destroyed Ferrari’s race.

“They were running second and third. Then they were fighting so hard, destroying their tyres. And in those two laps, they lost five seconds to Antonelli.

“At some point, if they keep taking lap time away from each other like this, it will allow Mercedes to get away.”

But if the teammates play the game, attacking Mercedes and not one another, Villeneuve believes Ferrari could become a headache for Mercedes.

The Italian stable trails Mercedes by 31 points in the Constructors’ Championship, while Leclerc and Hamilton are 17 and 16 points down on Russell in the Drivers’ standings.

“So,” Villeneuve added, “Mercedes should worry a little bit about Ferrari coming back, because they’re not that far behind them in points.”

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur had no complaints about the battle between his two drivers, going as far as to say it was good for team morale to see them going on and having fun doing so.

“Huge respect for both of them,” he said. “They are professional, and I think it makes sense in this situation to let them race.

“I know perfectly that that can also look completely stupid half an hour later.

“But at the end of the day, I think it’s also the best way to build up a team. We need to have this kind of emulation into the team to improve.

“As long as it’s done like it was done today, even a couple of times on the radio they told us that they have good fun, but I don’t want to freeze the position.”

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