Lewis Hamilton’s heart and head are already at Ferrari, that is the claim made by Jacques Villeneuve ahead of the Briton’s 2025 Maranello move.

Since his Silverstone win, Hamilton has finished no higher than fourth and his P10 in Sao Paulo, while team-mate George Russell came fourth, had many wondering if the seven-time World Champion still had it.

Lewis Hamilton ‘just finishing his contract’ ahead of Ferrari move

Villeneuve has defended Hamilton but suggested his head and heart may already be in Maranello.

“With everything he’s been able to do, he’s still capable of doing it. There’s no doubt there. Just because it’s not working right now with Mercedes doesn’t mean that he’s lost it,” he told Grosvenor Sport.

“His heart and his head are probably somewhere else already! He knew that he couldn’t win the championship this year with Mercedes, maybe a race or two, but not the championship. So why put all that energy into building the car and the team for someone else?

“Right now, he’s just finishing his contract.”

As for suggestions Hamilton is tarnishing his own legacy with his recent performances, Villeneuve denied that and instead suggested he would be the “biggest driver ever” if he won the title at Ferrari.

“That is the next step for him to become the biggest driver ever. Winning again with Mercedes would not really serve any purpose. But winning with Ferrari? There’s nothing bigger in the world after everything he has achieved.

“When he signed there was nothing to see. All he could see was where Mercedes had gone.

“So, it was time to move. And sometimes you go on a hunch, and you jump and you hope that the other ship is better. Then you look like a hero like he did when he went to Mercedes and people were asking, ‘What is he doing? Is he crazy? It turned out to be good.

“When he did sign for Ferrari nothing was in place like it is now. It wasn’t the Ferrari we see today.

“That’s what you have to understand. It is a Ferrari. It’s the biggest name in the car or motorsport industry and Lewis has been the biggest name. So, link the two. Look how the shares went up in Ferrari.

“If he can win with Ferrari, he will be forever unbeatable. That’s it. And he will cement his name. It’s very simple.

“If he doesn’t win with Ferrari, he still has got all the records. That would just be the ultimate step. So it’s worth taking the gamble.”