Former F1 driver Jacques Villeneuve has insisted that Franco Colapinto "can't cry" about not featuring on the grid this season.
Colapinto had been pushing for a seat on this year's grid, although hurt his chances in the closing rounds of last season following multiple heavy crashes.
However, the Argentine driver has been signed by Alpine to be its third and reserve driver and is expected to put pressure on Jack Doohan.
There is significant speculation surrounding Colapinto, but the 1997 champion does not sympathise with the driver not featuring on the grid at least for the Australian Grand Prix.
"Franco Colapinto damaged his chances," Villeneuve told The Action Network. "If you are given the golden chance, it's for you to make the most of it. He can’t cry about it.
"He got a few races out of this in F1. Not many people get that so it's already impressive that he got that chance.
"I'm not sure what will happen with his future. He's still a quick driver. But what he showed is he didn't judge the situation really well."
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Villeneuve questions new rookies
Whilst Colapinto failed to gain a race seat, there are six full-time F1 rookies this year. One of which is reigning F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto, who will partner Nico Hulkenberg at Stake F1.
Of the six rookie drivers, four have been promoted from F2, a championship Villeneuve does not read too much into.
Something else which surprises the 53-year-old is how young the majority of the rookie drivers are, with the Candian questioning their level of experience.
"No idea what to expect out of Bortoleto. No idea," said Villeneuve. "Formula 2 has never been a good judge of drivers.
"So, it's pointless until they get into F1. But right now they get into F1 with so little experience.
"It's very difficult to understand how you can get to that top level in the biggest sport in the world so quickly at such a young age with so little experience. I find that quite surprising.
"They get a lot of simulator work, which allows them to be quick but then you also see what happened with Antonelli in Monza."
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