Villeneuve gives his opinion on Vergne, Grosjean, Alonso, Vettel, and Hamilton

Jacques Villeneuve, Formula 1 World Champion in 1997 with Williams-Renault, is known for his candidness. It is surely partly for this trait that Canal+ chose him to comment on the Grand Prix alongside Julien Fébreau this season.

The Canadian has a strong opinion on everything, especially about two of the French drivers in the discipline. He spoke yesterday on the microphone of the Monegasque radio RMC Sport: « Jean-Eric Vergne will need to get a podium with Toro Rosso, otherwise it’s pointless. The chances of seeing him at Red Bull in 2014 are slim but they exist. It’s up to him to do what he can to stand out. Without a standout performance from him, they will put two other young drivers in the team until the day they sell it. »

According to him, Romain Grosjean is also a talented driver, but he will need to step up his level and learn from his past mistakes: « The only chance for a French victory is Romain Grosjean because he is in an incredible car. His only problem is that he doesn’t learn from his mistakes. Last year, he made a lot of blunders and barely realized it. I found it astonishing. He did not evolve from the first race to the last. It’s a shame because he’s a very fast driver. »

But Villeneuve also makes a point about the top of the standings and the title contenders: The best car is certainly Adrian Newey’s Red Bull. But apart from Fernando Alonso, there is no driver capable of pushing the car to its limits throughout the race. When Sebastian Vettel does it, he makes mistakes. His only challenger will surely be Alonso. After him, there might be Lewis Hamilton. But he is no longer at McLaren, with his family, so he is no longer protected. But he is a fighter, and it will be very interesting to watch.

Here is the scene set by Jacques Villeneuve, who will make his grand debut as a commentator during the first Grand Prix of the season in Australia on March 17th.