Jacques Villeneuve shares honest opinion on his Canadian GP criticism of Daniel Ricciardo

Former F1 champion turned presenter, Jacques Villeneuve, recently talked about his criticism towards Daniel Ricciardo and his departure from the sport. The Aussie was removed from the RB team mid-season after the Singapore GP.

At the 2024 F1 Canadian GP, Villeneuve heavily criticized Daniel Ricciardo's performance during the season and directly questioned why the Aussie was in F1 if he was no longer performing at a high level. He stated that he should leave and make room for other aspiring drivers coming from the feeder series.

“Why is he still in F1? We have been hearing the same thing now for the last four or five years- ‘we have to make the car better for him’. Its been five years now. Maybe you make that effort for Lewis Hamilton who has won multiple championships, you don’t make that effort for a driver that can't cut it. If you can't cut it, go home, there’s someone else to take your place," Villeneuve said.

After Ricciardo departed from F1 after the Singapore GP, Jacques Villeneuve told Mirror Sport how his previous criticism about Ricciardo received loads of conflicting reactions. The Canadian added that he was simply happy that his point was properly discussed by F1 fans.

He clarified that he was not happy to see Daniel Ricciardo leave F1, he was simply happy that the reality of his poor performances was brought to light.

"It never crossed my mind that I wanted to be proven right. It got a lot of reaction, a lot of negative and some positive. It got a lot of people discussing the subject openly. It's not a question of destroying someone, but you have to look at reality. I think people realised, 'Okay, Jacques has a fair point, let's discuss it in depth', and that happened. That's what I'm happy about," Villeneuve said.

"My feelings wouldn't be any different if Daniel Ricciardo stayed at Red Bull. I'm not saying, 'Oh, I'm happy now he's left F1'. I'm just glad to have brought reality to the fore," the Canadian addded.

In the 2024 F1 season, Daniel Ricciardo struggled to squeeze performance out of the RB car. He was unable to keep up with his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, in the first half of the season. Even though he scored a handful of points in the middle of the season, the F1 space started discussing whether the Honey Badger's future in the sport was safe.

Eventually, Ricciardo was removed from RB after the Singapore GP and replaced by Liam Lawson.

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Daniel Ricciardo wrote an emotional message to his fans after leaving RB and F1

After his departure from RB and F1 was official, Daniel Ricciardo took to Instagram to bid farewell. He posted a picture of him walking away in his race suit and wrote an emotional message. The Aussie thanked the fans and his team members for all the support and fond memories throughout his career. He concluded that he would not change anything in his career if he got the chance.

"I’ve loved this sport my whole life. It’s wild and wonderful and been a journey. To the teams and individuals that have played their part, thank you. To the fans who love the sport sometimes more than me haha thank you. It’ll always have its highs and lows but it’s been fun and truth be told I wouldn’t change it. Until the next adventure," Ricciardo wrote.

As of now, Daniel Ricciardo has not yet announced anything regarding his future racing career. Most recently, he was seen promoting his clothing brand, Echante, through a popup store in New York in December.