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Former champion speaks out on Ferrari dispute saying \u2018Hamilton did everything right\u2019 \u2013\u00a0Things are not going well at Ferrari right now, and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix only added to the confusion. Lewis Hamilton caused a stir when he ignored team orders instructing him to let Charles Leclerc pass. <\/p>\n
His refusal drew criticism from within the team, but not everyone agreed with their stance. Former world champion Jacques Villeneuve has now weighed in on the matter, stating that Hamilton was perfectly justified in ignoring the instructions. In fact, Villeneuve thinks Ferrari are in the wrong.<\/p>\n
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Hamilton\u2019s team order drama<\/p>\n
The incident unfolded late in the Baku race. Ferrari told Leclerc to let Hamilton back through after the Briton had overtaken with fresher tyres.<\/p>\n
However, Hamilton never complied. Instead, he continued to push, finishing ahead and leaving Leclerc unimpressed. Leclerc delivered a cutting post-race remark, dismissing the situation with sarcasm: \u2018I don\u2019t really care; it\u2019s only about eighth place. So he can be happy about that. It\u2019s just stupid because it\u2019s not fair.\u201d<\/p>\n
This summed up the mood at Ferrari, a team already under pressure due to strategic errors, missed opportunities and criticism from fans and the Italian media. Yet Villeneuve, never one to mince his words, sided firmly with Hamilton.<\/p>\n
Competition claims \u2018cheat\u2019 lap as Verstappen silences & wins N\u00fcrburgring<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Villeneuve defends Hamilton<\/p>\n Speaking to OLBG, the 1997 champion said: \u201cLewis Hamilton did well. He did really well. Ferrari asked Leclerc to let Lewis past, but it wasn\u2019t necessary. Lewis was so much faster with the new tyres that he would have overtaken him anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n Villeneuve argued that the team\u2019s instructions were redundant. In his view, Hamilton applied common sense rather than disrespecting Ferrari. \u201cI suspect that\u2019s why Lewis didn\u2019t want to let him past again,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n For Villeneuve, this is yet another example of Ferrari issuing muddled orders rather than trusting their drivers. To him, Hamilton\u2019s actions were pragmatic, not disobedient.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Hamilton\u2019s apology and Ferrari\u2019s frustrations<\/p>\n Hamilton himself adopted a more conciliatory tone after the chequered flag. He admitted that he had misjudged the situation, claiming that he had eased off the throttle but hadn\u2019t given Leclerc enough room to regain his position.<\/p>\n \u201cI will apologise to Charles,\u201d he said, though this didn\u2019t erase the incident\u2019s impact.<\/p>\n Hamilton\u2019s frustrations with Ferrari had already been building before the race even began. After a poor qualifying performance left him outside the top ten, the seven-time champion criticised the team\u2019s tyre strategy, a recurring theme of his first season in red. For a driver accustomed to consistent success at the front of the grid, Ferrari\u2019s current chaos must feel like d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu from years past.<\/p>\n Title Analysis: Verstappen, Norris or Piastri?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Ferrari\u2019s declining form<\/p>\n The ignored team order is just a symptom of wider problems. Ferrari are in decline, and Villeneuve didn\u2019t hold back in his assessment: \u201cFirst, there was the big announcement that Fred Vasseur had been re-signed. And then the team went downhill,\u201d said the Canadian.<\/p>\n The renewal of Vasseur\u2019s contract was supposed to provide stability. Instead, Ferrari have regressed.<\/p>\n According to Villeneuve, the Scuderia has squandered recent opportunities. \u201cMonza was supposed to be the perfect weekend for Ferrari, but it wasn\u2019t. In the past, Baku was a great track for Leclerc at least, but this year it was one of their worst weekends. So that\u2019s two very bad weekends in a row since the summer break.\u201d<\/p>\n Ferrari, he concluded, look \u201ccompletely lost at the moment\u201d and \u201cobviously need a new direction\u201d.<\/p>\n Red Bull plans: Tsunoda spills the beans<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Team orders: a Ferrari tradition of chaos<\/p>\n For long-time Formula 1 fans, Ferrari\u2019s team order dramas are nothing new. From the infamous \u2018Fernando is faster than you\u2019 message in 2010 to the numerous confused radio calls in recent years, the Scuderia has a talent for transforming straightforward situations into chaotic headlines.<\/p>\n The Hamilton-Leclerc incident is just the latest chapter in this ongoing saga. The irony is hard to miss: Ferrari finally convinced a seven-time world champion to join them, only to micromanage him in battles for eighth place. It\u2019s not quite the glorious comeback the Tifosi were promised.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Villeneuve perspective<\/p>\n Jacques Villeneuve\u2019s comments carry extra weight because he has always been outspoken about drivers\u2019 autonomy versus team control. To him, racing instincts should prevail over pit-wall micromanagement. By that logic, Hamilton\u2019s refusal to follow Ferrari\u2019s orders wasn\u2019t rebellion, but rather an expression of his racing instincts.<\/p>\n However, that doesn\u2019t mean Villeneuve is giving Hamilton a free pass for everything. In this case, however, the Canadian sees Ferrari as undermining themselves. Team orders are meant to maximise results, not create unnecessary conflict over midfield scraps.<\/p>\n USA test for Schumacher<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n There is a wider crisis at Ferrari<\/p>\n Ferrari\u2019s slump goes beyond one race or one radio call. The team has failed to deliver a car capable of achieving consistent podium finishes in 2025. Their strategies have too often backfired, and their reliability remains patchy. Meanwhile, rivals such as McLaren and Red Bull continue to set the pace.<\/p>\n Hamilton joined Ferrari in the hope of reviving both his career and the Scuderia\u2019s fortunes. Instead, he finds himself apologising for squabbles over eighth place, while Villeneuve highlights Ferrari\u2019s lack of direction from the sidelines. If they cannot rediscover form quickly, the once-proud team risks sliding into irrelevance.<\/p>\n Odds on Verstappen winning the F1 title 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n What\u2019s next for Ferrari?<\/p>\n The Italian team is now under intense scrutiny. Every mistake fuels speculation about leadership, driver harmony and long-term planning. Leclerc\u2019s sarcastic remark hints at tension between teammates, while Hamilton\u2019s criticism of strategy suggests underlying frustration.<\/p>\n Villeneuve\u2019s verdict that Ferrari are \u201ccompletely lost\u201d will be a hard pill to swallow. However, unless results improve, it\u2019s hard to disagree with him. Re-signing Vasseur was intended to signal stability, but it has only delivered more confusion.<\/p>\n The Azerbaijan incident may seem minor in the grand scheme of things, just a squabble over eighth place. However, it highlights a deeper problem at Ferrari. A champion driver ignoring team orders, a teammate resorting to sarcasm and an ex-champion publicly ridiculing the team paint a grim picture indeed.<\/p>\n For Hamilton, this is a test of patience. For Leclerc, it\u2019s a further indication that Ferrari is unable to provide him with the means to succeed. For Ferrari, it\u2019s just another chapter in their ongoing saga of chaos and missed opportunities.<\/p>\n It remains to be seen whether this season will mark a turning point or just another false dawn. But one thing is clear: Ferrari cannot afford many more weekends like Baku. Otherwise, not even the great Lewis Hamilton will be enough to rescue them from their own confusion.<\/p>\n Do you agree with Villeneuve\u2019s defence of Hamilton, or do you think Ferrari should have enforced the order more strictly? Let us know in the comments.<\/p>\n 48,500 Tickets Gone: Madrid\u2019s \u2018MadRing\u2019 Sparks F1 Frenzy<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Red Bull driver market is always chaotic, but this year the scriptwriters in Milton Keynes seem to have really lost the plot. Rumours that Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson could be replaced by rookies straight from Formula 2 have left fans, pundits and probably a few bewildered engineers wondering if Helmut Marko\u2019s coffee has been spiked. <\/p>\n With Max Verstappen firmly established on his throne for the foreseeable future, the question of who will sit beside him, and what will happen to Red Bull\u2019s sister team, has triggered another round of musical chairs in the paddock\u2026READ MORE ON THIS STORY<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Jacques](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Jacques-Villeneuve.png\")
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