Villeneuve counts Hamilton out: "Mercedes has fallen from its pedestal"

According to Toto Wolff, Mercedes' poor form is mainly a 'lesson in humility.' What the team will do with this lesson remains to be seen, according to Jacques Villeneuve, because 'this is not what Toto Wolff and Lewis Hamilton are used to.'

For Villeneuve, it is clear: Mercedes has fallen from its pedestal. The team was dominant for years and could camouflage lesser weekends with its strong engine, but according to Villeneuve that is no longer the case.

Villeneuve counts Mercedes out of the championship battle

"We can say that competing for the prizes is no longer an option for Mercedes," Villeneuve writes in his column for Formula1.nl. Where George Russell, according to the Canadian, can still do well with the W13, he sees Hamilton falling through the cracks. According to Villeneuve the Brit always had a perfect car and he never had to really push to get everything out of it.

Villeneuve stresses that the budget ceiling makes it even more difficult to change course and he, therefore, thinks the championship is "very far away" for Mercedes. "By the time they are competitive again, Leclerc and Verstappen will be much too far away," said the 1997 world champion, who also wonders how Mercedes' headquarters and sponsors will react to this 'new situation'.