For Villeneuve, Räikkönen does not deserve his title
Jacques Villeneuve, 1997 World Champion, reflected on the 2007 title won by Kimi Räikkönen, which he considers lucky and undeserved, before turning his attention to Felipe Massa.
On October 21, 2007, when Kimi Räikkönen crossed the finish line of the Brazilian Grand Prix, he became the Formula 1 World Champion. An incredible scenario for someone who, just two races earlier, was 17 points behind the young Lewis Hamilton. Taking advantage of an incredible series of blunders by the McLaren driver, who was very fragile under the pressure of the title, the Finn achieved the feat of winning the last two races to climb to the top of the world of motorsport at the end of his first season with Ferrari.
A title that Jacques Villeneuve, 1997 World Champion, considers lucky: “If Kimi won the championship, it was by luck, because he didn’t deserve it.” These are quite controversial remarks that might cause a stir: Räikkönen still enjoys significant popularity among fans of the sport, unlike the Canadian. Responding to questions from the Brazilian site TotalRace, the Quebecer didn’t hold back in flattering his hosts: “Felipe Massa deserved it much more. He has always been more capable than Kimi and was easy to beat.”
Asked about the evolution of Massa’s performance since his accident, Gilles’ son goes into more detail: « I think he has remained the same. [In 2008] Kimi, in my opinion, was uninterested and Felipe beat him easily. Things haven’t been going well for a year or two. The car doesn’t suit him, there are things that aren’t working. We need very little in F1 to get back to our maximum level ».
Teammate of the Paulista in 2005 at Sauber, Villeneuve does not understand the criticism Massa is facing: “The problem is that Alonso quickly took control at Ferrari. When this kind of thing happens, it creates an energy that people invest in one person, and in this case, it’s Alonso. It seems that if the car wins, it’s thanks to him. This creates a difficult situation for the other driver who is faced with a double task. That’s what Felipe has to do: he is fast, he is capable of driving well, of developing the car. I have no doubt about that. But he has to do more because it has become Alonso’s team, and it’s normal since he is a double World Champion.”
Reflecting on the 2010 German Grand Prix episode, during which Felipe Massa had to step aside to let Fernando Alonso pass in order to win the race, Villeneuve finds no fault: « Fernando was ahead in the championship. There was no balance, there was an imbalance at the time. It wouldn’t have changed anything. If Felipe was ahead, he would have gone through. It’s normal! »
Regarding Massa: « He has won races and almost won a championship, even two. He is a great driver. At the moment, he is driving very well for Ferrari. I don’t understand the people who criticize him ». As a reminder, Felipe Massa is currently 6th in the championship, 75 points behind his teammate (equivalent to three victories).
