Former Formula 1 champion Jacques Villeneuve praised Ferrari for taking ‘big risks’ to push Lewis Hamilton toward his first victory with the team at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

Ferrari’s aggressive plan was evident from the moment the tyre blankets came off on the grid, revealing that the seven-time champion would start on the soft tyres as his rivals ran the more durable medium compound.

Dictating the strategy from second place after being unable to jump George Russell at the start, Hamilton stopped early, making his three-stop plan clear, with Mercedes covering that initial stop before the teams diverged on their respective strategies.

Praising the way Ferrari attacked the race in a manner the complete opposite of how the team has operated in recent years, 1997 champion Villeneuve told Sky Sports F1: “It’s also the way it happened. It wasn’t given. Okay, there was the Safety Car, but Lewis had the pace from the start, surprisingly, and he kept it going.

“And then Ferrari did what they don’t normally do. They didn’t settle for second, they went aggressive. They took a big risk where it looked like all-in.

“Second, we don’t care. We want to get that win, and then it played into their hands. But the gap he built at the end, [it was] impressive, incredible.”

After a difficult first season with Ferrari, Hamilton has battled suggestions that he should retire from F1 and call time on his glittering career.

Pointing out that the Briton has faced similar criticism before, Villeneuve added: “When he left McLaren for Mercedes, everyone was saying ‘Why would you do this?’ Then he built the team, and he went forward. It’s the same thing with Ferrari.”

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Hamilton was already second in the drivers’ championship arriving in Spain, but with Kimi Antonelli’s retirement and George Russell finishing second, he has closed the gap to the front to just 41 points.

Asked if Hamilton is really in the title fight, Villeneuve said: “Well, he is.

“We can see that things can go wrong [for Mercedes] and that the pace is there. We don’t know how the other two drivers will be under pressure from Lewis Hamilton. How will they react?

“And also, internally at Ferrari, they just resigned Leclerc two races ago for the best contract ever, a lifetime contract, but who’s actually going to the front, who’s getting the points? Lewis. So that will create issues internally as well.”