‘Why would he say that?’ – Sky F1 pundit responds to ‘stupid’ Lewis Hamilton comment

Sky F1 pundit and 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve has accused Lewis Hamilton of making “a stupid comment” by arguing that he was a lesser driver than his father Gilles Villeneuve.

Villeneuve’s comment came in an amusing exchange with Nico Rosberg after Hamilton renewed his criticism of F1 pundits following his victory at last weekend’s Barcelona Grand Prix.

Sky F1’s Jacques Villeneuve takes exception to ‘stupid’ Lewis Hamilton comment

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Hamilton claimed his first win as a Ferrari driver in Spain as his promising start to the F1 2026 season continued.

The seven-time world champion’s breakthrough triumph for Ferrari ended his two-year wait for a race win, having last tasted victory during his final season with Mercedes in 2024.

Hamilton came under pressure during a disastrous first season with Ferrari in 2025, which saw him fail to register a podium finish across a campaign for the first time in his F1 career.

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The 41-year-old pushed back against criticism from F1 pundits – some of whom had called for him to retire, arguing that he was past his best – at the end of last season.

Speaking at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last December, Hamilton told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets: “None of them have done what I’ve done. They’re not even on my level.”

Hamilton renewed his criticism of his doubters following his victory in Barcelona.

He told Sky F1: “For the people that say the negative stuff, I often use it as fuel. I think it’s easy to be negative about people.

“I think the ones that are worst are when it’s a driver that knows how hard it is in this field to do a job. They don’t even have the success that I have and they talk negatively.”

Hamilton’s post-race interview led to a light-hearted on-air debate between Rosberg and Villeneuve – both among the most outspoken F1 pundits – over whom his comments were directed.

And Villeneuve revealed that he was left unimpressed by Hamilton’s recent comments at the Canadian Grand Prix, where the Ferrari driver quipped that the late F1 icon Gilles “was obviously far better than his son.”

Villeneuve Sr claimed six F1 victories – all with Ferrari – before being killed in an accident at the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix, with his son winning the title in his second full season with Williams in 1997.

The full exchange between Rosberg and Villeneuve, along with Sky F1 presenter Natalie Pinkham, went as follows:

Rosberg: “Jacques, he was speaking to you also in that piece there. He said he hates when ex-drivers criticise him who’ve not had his success.”

Villeneuve: “You think that was about me?”

Rosberg: “He was thinking about you 100 per cent in that moment. One-hundred per cent. Would you like to answer back to him?”

Pinkham: “This is better. Let’s go. Grab me some popcorn.”

Villeneuve: “He did make a stupid comment in Montreal, where he said at least my dad is better than me. I was like: ‘Why would he say that?’ I don’t remember criticising him, so I don’t think that was about me, no. It must have been about you from the time you were together [as Mercedes teammates between 2013-16]. Come on.”

Pinkham: “Come on, smile back. What have you got?”

Rosberg: “No, that’s it. We end it there.”

Pinkham: “That’s it? That’s it?”

Rosberg: “That’s it.”

Pinkham: “Ridiculous.”

Villeneuve had previously argued that Ferrari was “not getting what they signed” from Hamilton during his 2025 struggles, claiming last season that “he doesn’t feel the team is behind him” and vice versa.

Hamilton shed more light on his challenging 2025 season in the aftermath of his victory last weekend, revealing that he was carrying an injury “for months” last year following a testing accident in Barcelona.

The seven-time world champion crashed at the final high-speed section of the lap during a TPC outing with Ferrari’s 2023 car on January 29 last year.

Hamilton had never previously addressed the incident publicly beyond quipping in early 2025 that he “definitely” found the limits of Ferrari F1 machinery during his extensive pre-season test programme.

He told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets in the post-race press conference in Barcelona last weekend: “The training that I put in was harder than I’ve ever experienced, to keep myself in good shape, because I think at the beginning of last year I got injured here, actually, and carried that for months.

“I think just [one] thing that I know is to never second-guess yourself, never doubt yourself.

“You’ve got to continue to believe in yourself at the core and those are the things that I’ve managed to reimplement into my mentality.

“I’ve rebuilt my mind to this point to get myself back to where I was.

“It’s a great feeling to stand here, or to sit here right now, but to stand on that podium.”

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

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