"It feels like you're watching a movie while you're fast-forwarding"- Former champion after driving Alpine's F1 car at 2022 Italian GP

Former F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve returned to Monza in the Alpine A521 at the 2022 Italian GP. The Canadian described the experience as "watching a movie while you're fast-forwarding," alluding to the great speeds.

Villeneuve last stepped into an F1 car at Monza in 2005, scoring an 11th place finish for Sauber. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of his title win, the driver was given the opportunity to drive the Alpine A521 in Monza last weekend. Villeneuve's association with members of Alpine goes a long way back, with the world champion having worked with both Fernando Alonso and Otmar Szafnauer at various points in his career.

Speaking exclusively to RacingNews365, the world champion said:

“The car was actually very stable, it’s quite simple to drive, but there is so much grip. The speed... your brain really struggles to comprehend this. You’re nailed to the ground and it feels like you’re watching a movie while you’re fast-forwarding. It’s really impressive. After the laps in the simulator, and seeing [Esteban Ocon and Alonso] drive, I saw where the braking point was.”

The former driver continued:

“I thought: Okay, your brain remembers everything: the racing lines and anything from 15-16 years ago.”

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Grid penalties give F1 a bad look, claims Martin Brundle

Prominent F1 pundit Martin Brundle claimed the array of grid penalties ahead of the 2022 Italian GP gave the sport a 'bad look'. The Briton argued that it was disappointing for fans to tune into Saturday's qualifying session and not see the grid being formed for the following day.

For the second time in three races, the 2022 F1 Italian GP saw Saturday's exciting qualifying session lose a bit of its value due to a few drivers taking grid penalties. As a result, fast drivers such as Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton found themselves at the back of the grid in Monza.

Writing in his post-race column for Sky Sports F1, Brundle reflected on the state of the sport in Monza, claiming it could potentially damage its reputation. He wrote:

“This is an unacceptable situation, because when the fans turn up trackside or switch on their TV sets to watch qualifying, they should reasonably expect that they’re watching the race grid being formed. Instead, we waited for several hours for the tortuous and complex process of how penalties were applied.”

While it is certainly too late to change the rules for the 2022 season, perhaps the sport can take another look at its grid penalties in the coming years.