Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo have had a stark contrast in fortunes over the past few seasons. While the F1 community has been hailing the Dutchman for registering new milestones week in and week out, the Australian, on the other hand, has been facing a slump. Not only fans but former F1 drivers also have come out and slammed Ricciardo for not being good enough to succeed.
After facing the axe at McLaren towards the end of last season, Ricciardo returned to the F1 grid a few months ago when he replaced the sacked Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri. However, his return was cut short after he suffered a nasty wrist injury at the Dutch Grand Prix. Consequently, the 34-year-old failed to make the kind of impact he would have liked to make on his return.
Moreover, since Ricciardo has always been an individual who enjoys cracking jokes, 1997 F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve has questioned his character. The Canadian believes that the Honey Badger isn’t “hungry” enough like Max Verstappen or Fernando Alonso to win in F1.
Jacques Villeneuve hails Max Verstappen but slams Daniel Ricciardo
In his most recent interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Jacques Villeneuve gave his take on what separates Daniel Ricciardo from being a great like Max Verstappen or Fernando Alonso. The Canadian believes that the top drivers in F1 simply have a far greater desire to win and are not just happy to “laugh in the commercials.”
As quoted by f1maximaal.nl, the 52-year-old said, “I admire Fernando Alonso because he is always hungry. That is the difference that makes him a top driver. I would ask children who want to become racing drivers one day: do you want to do this out of passion, or because you want to be like Daniel Ricciardo and because you want to laugh in the commercials“?
After stating the same, Villeneuve heaped praise on Verstappen. The 1997 champion explained that it is not Red Bull that is “unbeatable” at the moment but it is solely the Dutchman. The former Williams driver believes that Verstappen is at another level as his father “groomed” him to be a champion from a very young age.
Looking back at a great weekend and an incredible season so far 🙌 Very proud and grateful to be part of this. We will enjoy this moment, recharge the batteries and be ready for Austin #KeepPushing pic.twitter.com/7cDiqzfeF3
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) October 9, 2023
“His strength is that he was never really a child. He was already an adult, even when he was little. He was groomed to be a champion by a father who was very strict with him. The truth is, Max doesn’t have any weaknesses these days,” Villeneuve explained.
Meanwhile, when it comes to Ricciardo, it is not just Villeneuve who has expressed his concerns with the Australian. Former F1 champion Jody Scheckter also explained that the problem with the 34-year-old is that he simply “smiles too much.”
Scheckter doesn’t rate Ricciardo highly because he “smiles too much“
In an interview last month, Jody Scheckter explained why he does not rate Daniel Ricciardo too highly. As quoted by gpfans.com, the 73-year-old told Stats Perform, “He smiles too much, that’s the problem. When somebody smiles so much…I don’t know if he’s going to be any better than Perez. I don’t rate him. I don’t rate him right at the top“.
The South African then ended his criticism of the 34-year-old by questioning his enthusiasm and desire to win in F1. However, after all the criticism, Schekter admitted that he did believe that the former Renault driver did show glimpses of being impressive during his early days in the sport.
