Jacques Villeneuve’s Opinion
Ferrari has yet to secure a win in the first 10 races of the season and is bringing a new floor to Austria—the first major technical upgrade based on track data gathered since the start of the year. The floor introduced in Bahrain had already been approved before the team encountered ground clearance issues, which are now limiting the SF-25’s performance compared to what was expected during its design phase.
Speaking to BetVictor, Jacques Villeneuve shared his thoughts on Ferrari’s difficult moment, stressing that the Scuderia cannot afford to shift focus entirely to 2026, especially after helping to build the high expectations now weighing heavily on the team.
Ferrari’s Firing Culture Is Nothing New
“Fred Vasseur is under pressure. It’s Ferrari—it’s normal. He’s already in his third year. Usually, this is when Ferrari team principals get fired. This is the stage when the pressure intensifies. This is when drivers get fired. It happened to Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell. That’s how things work at Ferrari. Either you have incredible success and are celebrated, or you find yourself at the other extreme. And at the top of the pyramid is the team principal. Being Ferrari’s team boss is like walking on hot coals. It has always been that way.”
Once Again, Too Much Hype Before the Season
“It’s hard to imagine a winless Ferrari. It would make sense to focus only on 2026, but you don’t understand—Ferrari can’t afford that. Not for the team itself, and not for its fans in Italy. You can’t allow yourself the ‘luxury’ of thinking only about the next season. Ferrari never learns to avoid building up expectations that end up going unmet. In 2023, they said the car would be the fastest ever, and then the SF-23 turned out to be terrible. They keep making this mistake, and I don’t know why.” – Jacques Villeneuve concluded ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix.
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