Jacques Villeneuve, former Formula 1 world champion in 1997 and commentator for Canal+ for many seasons, recently expressed ravingly about Daniel Ricciardo’s position in the F1 paddock. Invited to react as an expert for Sky Sports F1 during the Canadian Grand Prix, Villeneuve did not mince his words when evaluating Ricciardo’s recent performances with Racing Bulls and McLaren a few seasons ago. According to him, the Australian no longer deserves his place on the grid.
Villeneuve pointed out that Ricciardo was outperformed by his Racing Bulls teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, during the first eight races of this year, but is still rumored for another season with the Red Bull sister team. This situation seems to deeply disturb the former Canadian F1 driver: « Why is he still in F1? Why?” Villeneuve said.
« We have been hearing the same thing for four or five years now. ‘We need to improve the car for him’. Sorry, it has been going on for five years. No, you are in F1. »
Villeneuve continued by emphasizing that efforts could be justified for a driver like Lewis Hamilton, who has won several championships. But for Ricciardo, Villeneuve believes that it doesn’t make any sense. “Perhaps you make this effort for Lewis Hamilton who has won several championships. You do not make this effort for a driver who is not up to par. If you are not up to the task, go home, there is someone else to take your place. That’s how it has always been in racing, it’s the pinnacle of motorsport.”
A feeling of performing against “strong” teammates
Analyzing Ricciardo’s career in more detail, Villeneuve recalled that his initial successes were against a Sebastian Vettel at the end of his career and a barely legal Max Verstappen.
« And you all talk about this first season or the first two seasons, he was beating a tired Vettel, who was trying to come up with things with the car to win and was just ruining his weekends. Then, for half a season, he was beating Verstappen when Verstappen was 18 years old, just a beginner, that’s it, he stopped beating anyone after that. »
Asked about Ricciardo’s friendly image, Villeneuve said that it was thanks to this mindset that he was still in F1: “I think his image has kept him in F1 more than his actual results.”
Ricciardo was seen as the favorite to challenge Sergio Perez for the Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen, but his overall disappointing performances have put him out of the running. Eventually, Red Bull decided to extend Perez’s contract for two more years, leaving Ricciardo and Tsunoda aside. Yuki Tsunoda, on the other hand, should also extend with Racing Bulls.
