Exclusive interview with Jacques Villeneuve

Jacques Villeneuve, let’s start with your new job. This year you are a consultant on Canal+. After 8 Grand Prix, how do you evaluate the experience?

Pretty well. It’s complicated, it’s a lot of work. I didn’t really know what to expect, if I was going to like it, if after two or three Grand Prix it was going to start bothering me a little. But it’s going well, it’s interesting, there’s always something to say so very, very satisfied.

Canal+ has a three-year contract, does that mean you’re ready to comment alongside Julien Fébreau for the coming seasons?

This was a test to see how it would turn out, but if it continues like this, yes. On Canal+, there’s a freedom of expression that you don’t find everywhere and that’s also what makes it comfortable.

What is your opinion on the start of the season?

We have a good championship but not often good races. We often have surprising races but with too many tire problems and too many artificial elements; with DRS and so on. A lot of overtakes but few beautiful overtakes, so we have to put things into perspective, but we have a very beautiful championship with many contenders for victory.

Which driver impresses you the most at the moment?

Alonso has always been special. Vettel has matured a lot this year. There’s a big change in Vettel this season. The other one who made a lot of progress this year is Rosberg. Last year he was a bit asleep but now he’s starting to get ahead of Lewis Hamilton, which is not an easy thing, so I think those who can come and shake things up [in the title fight] are the two Mercedes drivers. Since the start of the season, Ferrari and Red Bull have been focusing on each other but they haven’t necessarily seen Mercedes coming.

Pirelli has brought new rear tires for this Grand Prix, after the problems encountered at Silverstone. Other changes are planned for Budapest. Do you think this will impact the hierarchy and favor certain teams, or will it still be the same ones in the lead?

The same teams will be competitive, after that it will help a little bit the teams that were overheating their tires because these are Kevlar belts that allow better temperature control of the tire, however, it does not change tire wear.

Another big announcement in recent days is the announcement of Mark Webber’s departure to join the Porsche project in Endurance racing. What do you think of this decision? Is it the right time to move on?

He felt that anyway they weren’t going to renew his contract, so he made the decision before they announced it to him, so that’s a good thing. It’s always good to take the initiative.

Who do you see as favorites to replace him? If you had to choose between the different candidates?

Kimi Räikkönen because he has a somewhat festive image. Because today Red Bull has won three championships, but there isn’t much of an image that comes with it. Here they would have a driver to continue winning, which would be Vettel, and Kimi who would be there somewhat to party and have the true Red Bull image. That would suit the team best, I imagine.

Otherwise, between Vergne and Ricciardo, it depends on the races. At Silverstone, Ricciardo did well and Vergne less so. However, in the two previous Grand Prix, at Monaco and Canada, it was Vergne who was well ahead, so I think it will depend on the social aspect and how the two drivers get along with the team management.

We just mentioned Jean-Eric Vergne. What do you think of the performances of the four French drivers?

For now, Grosjean, despite being very fast – as he has demonstrated – does not have the results he should with a Lotus, so he still has a lot of work to do in that area.

Jean-Eric Vergne is very fast, especially in difficult, wet conditions, but for now, he is not consistent. Often when he’s under pressure it doesn’t work, so there are too many ups and downs.

Bianchi and Pic are in teams that make it difficult to really judge.

We have the youngest grid in the history of Formula 1. What do you think of the young drivers?

There is a significant lack of experience in Formula 1 quite simply, but also a lack of personality.

Do you think the training and pathway to reach Formula 1 should be reviewed?

A mix of experience and youth is needed because for a young driver to be good, they must beat experienced drivers; it’s the only way to learn. If there are only inexperienced drivers, the bar is set too low.

In the same vein, do you think that the possible arrival of Räikkönen at Red Bull in 2014 could allow Sebastian Vettel to reach another level if he were to beat him, despite already having three world titles?

Yes, totally. It would be better for Vettel to beat a world champion who is perceived as a very fast driver like Kimi Räikkönen than a Webber who is seen as a fast driver but has never proven it.

Many teams have financial problems, including Williams, of which you are the last world champion. Is this something that particularly affects you?

It’s a bit like the evolution of Formula 1, which has become less and less a sporting environment and more and more a business and political environment. It feels like the teams and the Formula 1 world don’t realize how much they are in danger right now because the number of teams having problems is enormous, and it is not sustainable at this level. It’s not the regulations that need to change, but the teams that need to adapt.

There are still some measures that have been taken to reduce costs, do you think we need to go even further?

The measures are useless. Teams spend the amount of money they have. They already had hundreds of employees, they cannot reduce them overnight. A big part of the problem comes from the arrival of manufacturers over the last ten years. Manufacturers who subsequently left, leaving a big void behind them. That’s the danger. It’s bringing in manufacturers because it’s no longer sustainable the day they leave. To address this problem, teams have started bringing in pay drivers who don’t have the necessary talent but bring in money and won’t develop the cars. And teams that hire pay drivers can’t find sponsors because there’s no image anyway. It’s a vicious circle from which, for example, Williams will have a lot of trouble escaping.

On the other hand, the regulation to stop doing tests, yes it costs less. Now, what have the teams done instead? They have built huge simulators that cost as much as it would to conduct tests, so there’s no savings made. More money is put into motorhomes instead. The money the teams earn, they spend it anyway.

The engine for next year is going to cost two to three times the price of this year’s, so there aren’t any savings. There’s a push in F1 to move towards Endurance, so that there are only five engines per season. It means there’s no longer any development. For F1 to be exciting, it must be excessive, which it always has been. That’s what excites sponsors, fans, everyone. But it’s unfortunately becoming more mundane.

So you wouldn’t be in favor of a budget cap or the possibility for certain teams, Red Bull, Ferrari, and others, to supply chassis to smaller teams?

That would be a good thing for the teams to be able to sell their chassis and why not have three cars, three Ferraris, three McLarens instead of being limited to two. That would be interesting. What would facilitate funding would be if the two cars were not the same color, allowing them to have different sponsors. We need to think about all that.

Limiting budgets, no. If the best are able to have more budget, so much the better for them. We should stop limiting from below. The best should also be able to demonstrate that they are the best.

Other actors in financial difficulty include circuits, notably the Nürburgring, which we aren’t sure will be on the calendar in two years. Do you regret the disappearance of the old circuits?

It depends. Most of the old circuits are no longer suited to modern Formula 1. They are not suitable for fans, they are located far from major cities. The modern world is used to sitting in front of a computer and having continuous information every five minutes and no longer wants to travel, drive two hours to see a live show. It’s almost no longer part of the habits of the modern generation. We also need to adapt a little to the audience.

From our special correspondent at the Nürburgring