Villeneuve: 'Silence Hamilton a way of distancing himself from Wolff'

Jacques Villeneuve thinks Lewis Hamilton's silence is a way of distancing himself from Toto Wolff's attitude. The Mercedes team boss openly went through an emotional roller coaster after the loss in Abu Dhabi, while Hamilton was silent.

The defeat against Max Verstappen undoubtedly hit Hamilton hard, but it was Wolff who frequently expressed his inability to live with the result. Villeneuve thinks that the radio silence around Hamilton can be traced back to the behaviour of his team boss.

According to the Canadian, Hamilton is always concerned with his image and wants to prevent it from being damaged by Wolff's eccentric behavior. "I interpret his silence as a way of distancing himself from Wolff," Villeneuve said in conversation with La Gazzetta dello Sport. "After all, you can lose in style, but instead Toto behaves like someone who loses a game of Monopoly and then flips the board."

He continued: "In my view, he has damaged his reputation in doing so. Hamilton is wise in this, because he is thinking about his future." According to Villeneuve, the British driver would like to keep his image intact for a possible move to the United States and maybe even for a career in Hollywood.