Jacques Villeneuve Launches Another Scathing Attack on Charles LeClerc and Ferrari

Former F1 Champion, Jacques Villeneuve always seems to have some sort of opinion on F1. Now, the latest target for the Canadian is Ferrari driver Charles LeClerc in the wake of the Azerbaijan GP. He believes that the arrival of Charles LeClerc has ‘unsettled’ Vettel and Ferrari.

Speaking to Motorsport.com and referring to LeClerc’s qualifying crash, he said, “If you listen to any fan or go on the forums, even the qualifying accident [in Baku], Leclerc doesn’t get criticised,”

He continued, “If it had been Vettel, he would have been destroyed by the media and everyone, for the same mistake.”

“Ultimately I think that’s having a negative effect for the team. Seb’s spin in Bahrain came because of that, then the team orders in China, it all comes from there.”

“And Leclerc’s accident in qualifying also, wanting to prove that he’s the number one of the team. Ultimately that’s damaging the whole team.”

Trying to move onto a more positive note, he hoped that the situation balances itself out. Theoretically, Mercedes should have been chasing them and not the other way round. Sadly, the only thing they can ‘boast’ about is three podiums and no winner’s trophy in the 2019 cabinet.

However, Villeneuve assured that his comments were not a dig at Charles LeClerc himself. He affirmed, “Charles Leclerc is quick, he personally is ready. It’s Ferrari that’s not ready for this kind of situation.”

“If you take Leclerc’s perspective, it’s great to be there this year, for him it’s amazing, and he’s shown that he’s super quick.”

“But if you take Ferrari as a team, you have to look at Vettel’s past, and you have to remember Ricciardo when he joined Red Bull. Seb needs to know that he’s loved by the team, and by the fans, and that’s gone this year.”

Interestingly, Villeneuve believes that Ferrari should not have given Charles LeClerc an early promotion. Instead, they should have opted to deploy Kimi Raikkonen for one more year and give Charles LeClerc a little more experience before dropping him into the deep end.

“They already had Leclerc, so they could have given him a contract for 2020 and 2021, and kept Kimi for just one year, because this was the year to fight. Then everybody’s happy, because you give them time in advance, it doesn’t unbalance anything.”

“That’s not saying Leclerc is not good, he’s amazing, he’s super quick, he deserves to be there, that’s not the issue. But the way Ferrari operates, the way Seb is, he needs this kind of love around him, and it was just not the right move.”

He also cited the example of Mercedes, Valtteri Bottas and reserve driver Esteban Ocon. Ocon is a talented driver but Bottas still has life left in him despite a poor 2018 campaign.

“Look what they did at Mercedes, and look how strong it is this year. If they had put Ocon there, Lewis would have reacted the same way – he would have wanted to eat him alive straight away, and destroy him.”

“But there’s respect with Bottas, and even if they both have two victories, Lewis doesn’t seem to be upset about it. That wasn’t the case with Nico [Rosberg] for example, and that really allows the team to perform at a level that it almost hasn’t performed at before.”