Jacques Villeneuve delivered a brutal dismantling of Daniel Ricciardo's claim to an F1 seat, proffering an opinion tantamount to a personal attack on the RB driver.
His remarks have divided opinion online, with many fans sharing the clip on social media, and despite Ricciardo's popularity, some have supported the Canadian's view.
The 34-year-old has endured a rough run in F1 since leaving Renault for McLaren in 2021. Although he did add his eighth - and most recent - grand prix victory with the team, he struggled against team-mate Lando Norris.
This led to him being fired by the Woking squad, with compatriot Oscar Piastri replacing him for the 2023 season. After a few months on the sidelines, he joined AlphaTauri, although, it is hard to argue he has re-found his past form.
"Why is he still in F1?" Villeneuve quipped on Sky Sports F1 when asked for his views on Ricciardo. The 53-year-old is a guest pundit for the Canadian Grand Prix coverage. (Full comments here.)
He went on to add: "You talk about that first season [at Red Bull in 2014], he was beating a [Sebastian] Vettel that was burnt out, was trying to invent things to make the car win and was just making a mess of his weekend.
"Then he was beating [Max] Verstappen when he was 18 years old and just starting and that was it. He stopped beating anyone after that. His image has kept him in F1 more than his actual results."
With Ricciardo unable to match RB team-mate Yuki Tsunoda this season, does Villeneuve have a point?
Let us know what you think by commenting or by voting below in the latest RacingNews365 poll.
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