Villeneuve: Ferrari are the new Mercedes

Jacques Villeneuve has offered words of encouragement to the tifosi, telling them that this season the Ferrari is “very fast” and labelling them the “new Mercedes”.

Although it is just three races into this year’s 23-race championship, all signs are pointing to a great season for Ferrari and especially Charles Leclerc.

The Monégasque driver has been on the podium in all three grands prix, winning two of those – Bahrain and Australia.

Taking the fastest lap points in all three, he has raced out to 34-point advantage in the title race and it has former F1 driver Villeneuve saying this could be Ferrari’s season.

“In Italy I am often asked ‘Is this the year, is it really going to happen?’ The tifosi find it hard to believe. You see them thinking ‘When will things go wrong?’ They are used to that after the Alonso and Vettel years,” he told Formule1.nl.

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“But Ferrari is very fast, actually it is the new Mercedes!”

It’s a win

Soooo happy! Perfect weekend.

Forza Ferrari @ScuderiaFerrari pic.twitter.com/Hzhab92JwQ

— Charles Leclerc (@Charles_Leclerc) April 10, 2022

It is a marked turnaround in form as last season it was Max Verstappen versus Lewis Hamilton for the race wins, this