Lewis Hamilton drew attention during the Canadian Grand Prix weekend in Formula 1 by making a provocation involving Jacques Villeneuve. The Ferrari driver praised Gilles Villeneuve’s legacy but ended the statement with irony directed at his son Jacques, a former driver and 1997 F1 champion.
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The Briton experienced one of his best weekends since joining Ferrari, finishing the race in second place after an intense battle with Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing. The result marked his best performance of the season so far.
During a conversation with journalists in Canada, Hamilton commented on the importance of Gilles Villeneuve to Formula 1 and Ferrari. The Canadian achieved six wins and thirteen podiums for the Italian team before dying in an accident during the qualifying session for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix.
The Montreal circuit was originally named Circuit Île Notre-Dame when it began hosting the race in 1978. That same year, Gilles Villeneuve won at home, still the only victory by a Canadian driver on Canadian soil in Formula 1. After his death, the track was renamed Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Hamilton admitted that he did not know much about the Canadian’s career when he was younger: “Personally, to be honest, I didn’t know much about him,” said the seven-time champion.
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The Ferrari driver stated that he was much more familiar with Niki Lauda due to spending time with him over the years: “I knew Niki more because I spent a lot of time with him and also because I grew up watching and learning about him,” Hamilton said, referring to the late former driver and three-time F1 champion Lauda, who worked at Mercedes as a non-executive chairman in his final years.
Even so, Hamilton highlighted Gilles Villeneuve’s driving characteristics after watching historical footage of the Canadian: “From the videos, he seemed like a driver who was always on the edge, managing to control the car while it was moving. It was really cool to see,” he added.
Before ending his response, Hamilton made the provocation directed at Jacques Villeneuve: “And obviously much better than his son,” the Briton said, referring to the 1997 F1 champion. The comment came after Jacques stated last year that Ferrari ‘was not getting what it expected’ from Hamilton.
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