Villeneuve: Ferrari need to focus on Hamilton if they want chance of title
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- Jacques Villeneuve said Ferrari must focus on Lewis Hamilton to have a chance at the 2026 F1 drivers' title, arguing on The F1 Show podcast that "the decision is easy to make because Leclerc is quite far back."
- Lewis Hamilton moved within 41 points of Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli at the top of the standings by claiming his first win for Ferrari at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
- Charles Leclerc suffered back-to-back retirements that opened a 30-point gap between the Ferrari pair, sharpening Villeneuve's case for team prioritisation.
- Villeneuve noted Mercedes "are not in a position to be even able or allowed to choose a driver over another," contrasting Ferrari's clearer decision with the tight Antonelli-George Russell battle at Mercedes (Russell sits third).
- Hamilton's 2025 debut at Ferrari was described as "hugely challenging" as he struggled to match Leclerc, but changes to his engineering team, alterations by team boss Fred Vasseur, and 2026's major regulation overhaul have revived his form.
Why it matters: Ferrari's title math just shifted: Hamilton's Barcelona win pulled him within 41 points of Antonelli, while Leclerc's two DNFs have created a 30-point internal gap that makes number-one driver calls obvious. Prioritising the 41-year-old seven-time champion is a low-risk, high-upside call — Mercedes' own two-driver squeeze (Antonelli vs Russell, third) leaves them unable to match that singular focus.
