Villeneuve expects battle within Mercedes as well as Ferrari: 'Nothing to lose'

Jacques Villeneuve thinks Carlos Sainz will no longer be the team player he was in 2024. According to the former Formula 1 driver, Sainz has nothing left to lose now that he already knows he will have to give up his seat at Ferrari next year to Lewis Hamilton.

Villeneuve sees Sainz as the big loser in the situation because it disadvantages his negotiating position. "Sainz no longer has any interest in playing team games. Ferrari's results no longer mean anything to him; the only thing that will count are his own results," the 52-year-old Canadian told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Furthermore, the 1997 world champion is very curious to see how Mercedes will handle the dynamic between Hamilton and George Russell in the seven-time world champion's final year with the team. Between Sainz and Charles Leclerc, too, he suspects it will be exciting.

Villeneuve calls the switch "a great move" for both Hamilton and Ferrari. Moreover, according to the former F1 driver, it doesn't matter what kind of results he will achieve at the Italian racing team because of the prestige that comes with it: "Better not to win with Ferrari than not to win with Mercedes," he concluded.

Who is the best candidate to replace Hamilton at Mercedes? "Alonso. That would be fantastic. Also because you can't put another young driver next to Russell. Not at Mercedes. Toto will have his own ideas about it. He is like Flavio Briatore: he has his drivers, markets them and if necessary he brings them to the team," Villeneuve said.