Jacques Villeneuve has theorized that Lewis Hamilton has undergone a significant mindset shift over the F1 summer shutdown, citing the seven-time World Champion\u2019s positivity after Dutch Grand Prix qualifying as a key example.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For Villeneuve, nothing can throw a driver off quite like trying too hard to secure a performance that his car isn\u2019t capable of. Coming to terms with that may very well have turned Hamilton\u2019s season around.<\/p>\n
Lewis Hamilton undergoes mindset change ahead of Dutch GP<\/p>\n
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher<\/p>\n
Just before the 2025 summer break, Lewis Hamilton<\/a> ended qualifying at the Hungarian Grand Prix criticizing himself as \u201cuseless\u201d and suggesting that Ferrari get rid of the faulty driver behind the wheel.<\/p>\n Villeneuve had reflected on Hamilton\u2019s interview demeanour as \u201creally strange<\/a>\u201c, and hinted at \u201csomething really odd happening\u201d more widely at Ferrari.<\/p>\n Contrast that to Hamilton\u2019s response to qualifying seventh for the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix, and it\u2019s a complete transformation.<\/p>\n \u201cI tried to have a slight different approach into the weekend,\u201d Hamilton told media, including PlanetF1.com.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to go into details of what that is, but I\u2019ve made some tweaks, before I even got here, and then through the weekend, and it\u2019s been a lot smoother.\u201d<\/p>\n While Hamilton was clear that there\u2019s still work to be done to improve the performance of the SF-25, there was a marked note of positivity in his voice that hasn\u2019t been present in recent events.<\/p>\n More analysis from the Dutch Grand Prix:<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0Data reveals the true story behind Aston Martin\u2019s stunning Dutch GP pace<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0Uncovered: McLaren deploy update tactic for Dutch GP performance gains<\/a><\/p>\n Meanwhile, Hamilton\u2019s Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc has taken on more of a negative pall. He deemed his Friday the worst of the 2025 season, while he was \u201cvery disappointed with my own performance\u201d in qualifying, where he secured the sixth-fastest time in Q3.<\/p>\n That represents a significant mental shift, and it was a major topic of conversation for the Sky Sports F1 team after Dutch GP qualifying.<\/p>\n Former driver turned pundit Jacques Villeneuve pointed out that Ferrari is \u201cnot far off\u201d the pace, and that with \u201ca tenth or two,\u201d they could have been P4.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not as bad as it looked earlier,\u201d the Canadian pointed out.<\/p>\n But he then contrasted the perspectives of both Ferrari drivers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s funny, and it\u2019s weird to see how different the two drivers are,\u201d Villeneuve said.<\/p>\n \u201cLike, Charles is really upset and berating himself, beating himself up \u2014 and Lewis actually super happy, like \u2018Oh, that\u2019s quite good.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cIf you look at the last race, and now, he\u2019s on par with his teammate. He\u2019s had a good weekend. It\u2019s up here. He\u2019s changed his mindset, and it\u2019s affecting his driving.\u201d<\/p>\n Fellow pundit Naomi Schiff continued the conversation, wondering, \u201cWhat I would be really interested\u00a0to understand is when Lewis is saying he\u2019s changed his approach; what does that mean?<\/p>\n \u201cBecause, of course, we\u2019ve had a summer break. He\u2019s hit reset, but ultimately his issue was the fact that he wasn\u2019t getting along with the way that the car was handling, and he wasn\u2019t able to extract what he could out of it.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I wonder what\u2019s changed, besides just the mindset to make him feel that comfortable \u2014 especially on a circuit like this, where if you\u2019re not feeling the car, you can very easily make a mistake and go off.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat gives him the confidence all of a sudden this weekend? I\u2019d love to understand.\u201d<\/p>\n For Villeneuve, though, there doesn\u2019t need to be a major transformation with the car itself. It could instead be a matter of perspective.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know what can make a difference, is accepting that the car is not quick enough, and then you stop over-driving it,\u201d the 1997 champion explained.<\/p>\n \u201cYou stop trying to figure out a setup that will get you pole when the car can\u2019t get pole, and then you end up going a bit faster because of that.\u201d<\/p>\n He drew a comparison to the Red Bull Racing team of 2014, when Daniel Ricciardo arrived to great fanfare and success while his more experienced teammate Sebastian Vettel struggled.<\/p>\n \u201cThat reminds me of when Ricciardo joined Red Bull with Vettel, and Vettel was trying to invent a car to go win, and he couldn\u2019t. So he was going backwards and backwards with the stress,\u201d Villeneuve said.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe that\u2019s what Lewis has changed. Like, \u2018okay, this car\u2019s just not quick enough. Let\u2019s accept it. Let\u2019s just drive and have fun.’\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s entirely possible that Hamilton took advantage of the summer break to reorient himself, taking to Instagram to promise<\/a> he\u2019ll \u201ckeep going even when it\u2019s difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a move in the right mental direction, but whether or not this transformation has staying power remains to be seen. There are still 10 races remaining in the F1 2025 season, and anything can happen.<\/p>\n