Ricciardo Hits Back at Villeneuve: “Talking S**t”

Daniel Ricciardo responded to harsh criticism from Jacques Villeneuve, F1 world champion in 1997, during the Canadian Grand Prix. Villeneuve questioned Ricciardo’s tenure in Formula 1, analysing the Australian’s difficult start to the 2024 season.

Speaking as a guest commentator on Sky Sports F1 coverage, Villeneuve expressed his doubts about Ricciardo continuing in the category: “Why is he still in F1? We’ve been hearing the same thing for five years. We have to ‘improve the car for him’, poor thing, no, you are in F1.

Villeneuve even commented that Ricciardo’s image kept him in F1 more than his actual results: “If you can’t make it, go home. There will be someone to take your place.”

After taking an impressive fifth on the grid for Red Bull, Ricciardo responded to Villeneuve’s comments: “I still don’t know what he said. But I heard he’s talking nonsense. But he always does,” Ricciardo told the press in Canada.

Then Ricciardo did not spare any criticism: “I think he hit his head a lot; I don’t know if he plays ice hockey or something. But yes. Anyway. I won’t pay attention to him, but… everyone, these people may be cursed—I mean more—but it’s ok.At the age of 34, Ricciardo faced a difficult start to the season, being overtaken by teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who secured his place for another season.

“I was very motivated to do more than I did this year,” said Ricciardo.”Obviously, Miami was an exception. I know how satisfying these good results are, and that’s why I’m here—to feel these highs. I think going into the week, I don’t know, everything felt good. I was very happy to come back to this circuit and compete here because today is 10 years since the day of my victory, and that day changed my life, and I felt like I was ready to do something good.”.

Ricciardo remains determined to overcome the challenges of this season and demonstrate his worth on the track, making it clear that, despite the criticism, he still has a lot to offer in Formula 1.