Jacques Villeneuve “simplistic” Daniel Ricciardo criticism “isn’t true”
“Jacques is entitled to his opinion but it was great to see Daniel quieten his critics"
Jacques Villeneuve has been told that his criticism of Daniel Ricciardo was false and “simplistic”.
Ex-F1 champion Villeneuve caused a stir at last weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix with unexpectedly scathing words about Ricciardo.
Villeneuve questioned why Ricciardo was still an F1 driver, prompting a spicy response from the popular Aussie.
F1 Nation podcast host Tom Clarkson said about Ricciardo: “He came in for some criticism from former world champion Jacques Villeneuve.
“I don’t know whether that was the source of motivation for Daniel but I’d say it was a really strong weekend for him.
“Certainly his strongest since he came back to F1 in the middle of last season.
“I’d say the Daniel of old…”
Natalie Pinkham had her say: “Jacques is entitled to his opinion. I think it was a somewhat over simplistic view of Daniel’s career.
“To say he’s been five years in the sport, and struggled throughout, isn’t true.
“He lost his seat at McLaren due to poor performance then earned it back at AlphaTauri. Only to break his hand, and earn it back again.
“Jacques is entitled to his opinion but it was great to see Daniel quieten his critics in the best possible way, on the track.
“That qualy was fantastic. It was disappointing to see him and Yuki lose places at the start. There was an issue there.”
Clarkson said: “They lost places at the start in Imola too.”
Pinkham continued: “Ironic he would gain a penalty for jumping the start which still baffles him and pundits around the sport.
“Did you see him move? Potentially the wheel moved slightly but it didn’t come out of his box to gain an advantage.
“He served the penalty and brought it home in P8, partly because he benefited from Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon coming together.
“On the whole, Canada is a track which suits him. He got his first grand prix win there so it holds great memories for him.
“There isn’t a driver on the grid who doesn’t relish going back to places where they perform well.
“You get a psychological boost from that.
“Good to see Daniel back hushing those critics, long may it continue.”
Ricciardo, whose faint hopes of landing the second Red Bull seat in 2025 ended with the renewal of Sergio Perez’s contract, delivered a reminder of his talents in Montreal.
The RB finished eighth, a productive result after a poor period which prompted Villeneuve’s criticism.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
