Kimi Raikkonen needs to stop making excuses or retire from Formula 1 – again – according to a hard-talking Jacques Villeneuve.
The 1997 F1 champion says he would never have imagined that Raikkonen would return to the sport, and despite an impressive return to form with Lotus, he’s failed to do the same at Ferrari where he’s struggled to match Fernando Alonso.
“Who would have imagined he would even come back to F1 in the first place?” the 43-year-old told Omnicorse. “Who would have thought he would return to Ferrari? No one!”
The Canadian blasted Raikkonen’s current form and says he can’t blame the F14T for his woes.
“For him, the gas is either fully open or nothing,” he said. “He is having a series of spins as though he is in Formula 3.
“If he can’t drive in F1 anymore, he should go home. He is a very experienced driver so he shouldn’t be making excuses at every grand prix like a rookie does.
“He should take two or three races to change how he’s driving, and if he can’t, that’s a problem.
“You can’t go on like this when you’re a world champion. You have no right to make excuses.”
Villeneuve also cast doubt on Sebastian Vettel’s future at Red Bull, who he believes have switched focus to Daniel Ricciardo as the Australian has so far outperformed his championship winning team-mate.
“He is a four-time world champion, but now Red Bull is treating him like they treated Mark Webber. They seem to have decided to focus on Daniel Ricciardo.
“Even Helmut Marko has started to criticise him,” he added. “When you lose the faith of the team and the politics starts to weigh heavily, you’re finished.”
