Ex-F1 Champion Throws Darts at Daniel Ricciardo Over Recent Setbacks: “Smile in Advertisements and Commercial Events”

Sabyasachi Biswas | 15/10/2023
Ex-F1 Champion Throws Darts at Daniel Ricciardo Over Recent Setbacks: “Smile in Advertisements and Commercial Events”

After his McLaren exit in 2022, Daniel Ricciardo got back into F1 with AlphaTauri recently. However, his return did not see him fetch a point as of yet whereas his short-term replacement Liam Lawson managed to do so. This has been a cause of concern for Jacques Villeneuve, who threw a dart at the Australian, targeting the latter’s mode of function of smiling at advertisements and events, as per Eurosport.

Villeneuve, in his recent statement on the AlphaTauri star, said that kids should think before idolizing Ricciardo. Admittedly, the honey badger has a huge fan following among children and teens and Villeneuve believes that should not be the case.

Apart from him, the Canadian former F1 star also shared his thoughts on other drivers such as Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz, and Max Verstappen. Still, he was only critical of Daniel Ricciardo

Villeneuve threw dart at Ricciardo over his mode of function

Villeneuve, a former world champion, has recently spoken on Ricciardo and how he has functioned off late by working on his media duties while his F1 career went downhill.

Speaking about this, he said as per Eurosport,that children should not idolize the Australian F1 driver who is just there in F1 to “smile in advertisements and commercial events.”

Admittedly, Ricciardo has been very impactful for teams when it comes to taking up PR and media duties. However, this wasn’t the first time Villeneuve spoke against Ricciardo. He has always opposed him when it comes to similar things.

Villeneuve, a popular opposition for Daniel Ricciardo

After McLaren showed Daniel Ricciardo the exit door at the end of last season, there were talks about the Perth-born driver filling the shoe of Fernando Alonso at Alpine in 2023. However, Jacques Villeneuve mocked at this possibility.

He said on this according to The Sun, “Alpine has no reason to take him, especially when he’s driven there before. The modern cars just don’t seem to suit his driving style.”

Nevertheless, Ricciardo returns to action in the upcoming United States Grand Prix at Austin after his injury at Zandvoort. Therefore, he would look to salvage things before the season concludes in Abu Dhabi.

Post Edited By: Somin Bhattacharjee
Daniel Ricciardo Jacques Villeneuve Liam Lawson

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Sabyasachi Biswas

Sabyasachi Biswas is an F1 journalist at The SportsRush. With over one and a half decades of love for the sport and five years of experience in the field, he dreams to be a regular at the paddock when the lights go out. A Red Bull fan and F1 fan in general over the years, he enjoyed watching Felipe Massa, Sebastian Vettel, and Max Verstappen dominate the track. Apart from F1, he's also a big-time Madridista and Federer fanatic. He was a sub-junior level footballer, won inter-district quizzes and debate competitions back in school. A travel freak throughout, he tries different cuisines and learns new cultures whenever he's away from the keyboard.

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