Daniel Ricciardo addresses Jacques Villeneuve spat: “I would never talk sh** about someone”

Daniel Ricciardo has spoken about his spat with 1997 F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve.

Villeneuve was incredibly critical of Ricciardo during the Canadian Grand Prix, questioning his place in F1.

The former Williams driver said in Montreal: “Why’s he still in F1? Why?

“We are hearing the same thing now for the last four or five years. ‘We have to make the car better for him’. Sorry, it’s been five years of that. No, you are in F1.”

Ricciardo hit back afterwards with a strong weekend, stating: "I still don't know what he said. But I heard he's been talking s***. But he always does.”

In the interview with Mirror Sport, Ricciardo admitted he was “disappointed” by the criticism given that Villeneuve was a former F1 driver himself and knows the difficulty of the job.

"In Montreal, Jacques was talking some stuff and there were a few things where I had a chip on my shoulder. I was like, 'Alright, if you guys want to test me, let's go'. I think I responded well to some of that,” he said.

"Normally I don't read it, but the team makes you aware of it, to prepare me for things that have been said. It does work me up... this is a world champion as well, in Jacques' case, it's someone who knows the sport.

"I could comment on other drivers and be like, 'Yeah, he's gone through a rough patch', but I would never talk s**t about someone because I can relate and I know what they've gone through. No-one can strap themselves and do this, it's such a rare sport.

"I was more disappointed, but I thought, 'If some people think that way, time for me to remind them that I'm still here'. I used it to my advantage, but it's fine. I know people have opinions. I just thought, 'Don't get agitated, get motivated'."

Since then, Ricciardo has enjoyed a steady rise in form with a number of impressive drives

It did look like before the summer break that Ricciardo would return to Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen.

"It's definitely clicking a bit more,” he added. “Canada was definitely a bigger turning point. I had the new chassis in China and Miami worked better.

"I had a couple of not-as-good ones and then in Canada, there was a lot on the line. There was talk already of me maybe losing my seat and I was like, 'Okay, everything I've done so far this year, for whatever reason, hasn't worked the way I wanted - I need to try to change a few things'."