F1: Lauda and Villeneuve at Loggerheads over Remark

Jacques Villeneuve has been in the news for a fairly long period of time and somehow stayed relevant. This time, the Canadian has lashed out at Dutch driver Max Verstappen over the later’s ‘headbutt’ remarks.

Verstappen was understandably fed to the teeth with being pestered by questions doubting his talent. So, in response, he ‘threatened to headbutt’ anyone. An unamused Villeneuve called the 20-year old ‘a child’ for the comments. Now, when F1 legend and Mercedes chairman Niki Lauda defended Max, Villeneuve got on his case as well.

Back in his heyday, Lauda was a contemporary of late F1 legend Gilles Villeneuve, Jacques’ father. Recently the Austrian said that  the famous Canadian racer was a lot like Verstappen.

Understandably, Jacques reacted angrily to that comparison between his father and Verstappen.

“Maybe Lauda is still dealing with Ferrari’s decision to replace him with my father. I agree that Verstappen takes risks like my father did, but there is a big difference – my father had respect for his opponents and learned from his mistakes.

He had a completely different upbringing. Quite frankly I don’t understand the comparison at all,” Villeneuve added.

On Sunday, prior to the race, Villeneuve drove his father’s Race-winning F1 car for a spin. The 47-year-old went around slowly, leading the current drivers who were in classic sports cars, waving to the crowd as he passed each grandstand.

“It wasn’t driving, it was almost like walking,” said Villeneuve. “But to sit in that car in front of this crowd — some of it from when I was racing, some from when my dad was racing — it was very special.”

Prior to this, the 1997 F1 champion last stepped in a race car in 2016, when he drove for the Venturi Formula E team. However, he only raced in 2 rounds before being let go.