Ex-world champion Jacques Villeneuve is a TV pundit for Sky in Montreal – and on his first day at work, he lashes out at Daniel Ricciardo …
If former Formula 1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve has his way, the Racing Bulls should send Daniel Ricciardo to the desert. “Why is he still in Formula 1? Why?” asks the TV pundit, who is in front of the camera for Sky at the Canadian Grand Prix. And: “I think it’s more his image that keeps him in Formula 1 than his actual results. “
Ricciardo was released by McLaren at the end of 2022 and “replaced” Nyck de Vries by the then AlphaTauri team in the middle of the 2023 season. Since then, he has shown isolated moments of brilliance, but overall has fallen short of expectations. The 34-year-old is miles away from the dream of recommending himself to the Racing Bulls for a return to Red Bull’s A team.
And not just because Red Bull has just extended Sergio Perez’s contract until the end of 2026. Even at Racing Bulls, he is struggling to assert himself against Yuki Tsunoda within the team. In the qualifying duel it is 1:7, in the race duel 1:6 against Ricciardo. A result that makes a strong case for giving Liam Lawson a chance in his place in 2025.
Villeneuve, never at a loss to express his unfiltered opinion, does not believe that Ricciardo still belongs in Formula 1. Villeneuve also doesn’t understand why Racing Bulls have granted him the wish to provide him with a new chassis: “For four or five years I’ve been hearing: ‘We have to make the car better for him. Poor guy!”
“I’m sorry. Five years? No way! We’re in Formula 1 here,” Villeneuve is merciless in his judgment. “You might do that for a Lewis Hamilton who has won many world championships. But not for someone who just doesn’t have it.”
“If you haven’t got it, go home! There’s sure to be someone else who will take your place. It’s always been like that in motorsport. It’s just the premier class. There’s no reason to keep going and keep finding new excuses. “
Ricciardo came into Formula 1 as one of the most promising talents. He made his Grand Prix debut with Colin Kolles’ HRT team in 2011 and then moved up to Toro Rosso, where he prevailed over Jean-Eric Vergne in an internal team duel in 2012/13. An achievement that earned him a promotion to Red Bull Racing in 2014.
There he became a sensation in 2014, beating the reigning four-time champion Sebastian Vettel by 238:167 points and celebrating three victories, while Vettel came away empty-handed. Even when he got the super-talented Max Verstappen as a team-mate in 2016, Ricciardo was able to hold his own. To this day, he is the only team-mate who has ever been able to seriously challenge Verstappen.
But Villeneuve says: “He beat a Vettel who was burnt out and trying to invent things on the car to win again, wrecking his weekends. And then he beat Verstappen for half a season when Verstappen was 18 and just starting out. That was it. He’s never beaten anyone since.”
The fault line in Ricciardo’s career runs right through the 2021 season. In 2019, at Renault, he beat Nico Hülkenberg by 54:37 points, then Esteban Ocon by 119:62 in 2020. But the switch to McLaren turned out to be a flop. Apart from a “lucky strike” at Monza in 2021. Since then, Ricciardo has never been able to consistently match his previous performances