The 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve has played down quotes that suggested he thinks Lewis Hamilton has behavioural tendencies similar to Jesus Christ.

When analysing Hamilton’s performance after pulling off a highly improbable victory at last weekend’s German Grand Prix, Villeneuve said: “The way he knelt next to his car after his problem in qualifying looked like the suffering of Christ.

"And what he said afterwards was the Sermon on the Mount.

"Then he gestured dramatically on the podium so everyone could see who sent the sudden rain.”

The quote spread like wildfire over social media and news outlets, but the notoriously outspoken Canadian insists that they were taken out of context.

“I never made this statement in an interview with a media outlet,” he told Le Journal de Montreal.

“It was never an answer to a question.”

Villeneuve also backtracked on another interview, in which he said his former team Williams is ‘dead’.

“I never said it was dead. I said it was dying. It’s not the same thing,” he said.

“My comments were translated into German and then into another language. When you do that, the meaning can change.

“When these are not organised interviews, there can be changes to the meaning that are enormous,” Villeneuve added.

The 47-year-old Canadian was also asked about rumours linking fellow Canadian Lance Stroll with a move from Williams to Force India for 2019.

“Honestly, it’s not much more rosy than Force India, as that team is failing because of an owner who does not pay debts,” Villeneuve said.

“I even read that their main sponsor is not really giving support but rather a loan.

“If Stroll goes, it probably will not change his status that much.”