Villeneuve does not hold back: "Ferrari could have been today's Mercedes"

When asked whether the new set of regulations will help the Italian race team in 2022, Villeneuve answered firmly. "No, because the changes concern the chassis and aerodynamics, not the engine. Mercedes will be able to carry over the advantage they already have," says the former Formula 1 driver.

Wrong philosophy at Ferrari

According to the 1997 world champion, Ferrari has made some big misatkes in recent years. "Ferrari could have been the Mercedes of today, but they let go of so many talented engineers, most of all because they were not Italian. And they all ended up there, on the other side," Villeneuve refers to men like James Allison, who is now doing an incredible job as technical director at Mercedes.

In previous interviews he said that Ferrari as a team is on the wrong track by wanting to work mainly with Italians. The philosophy 'Made in Italy by Italians' is not yet bearing fruit in Maranello. "They want to make Ferrari a true Italian team but I don’t think this is a precondition for success in modern F1. The team is facing extremely difficult times and it will take a lot for them to rise again. Maybe it will take at least two years. The most important thing is to get the best people on the team, regardless of their costs," advises Villeneuve. 

Maranello does not have the knowledge

The 49 year old does agree that Ferrari's current performance is not good for Formula 1. "Yes, very much so, because the problem is not the fact that they are not winning but that they are so far behind technically," he told Sky Italia.