‘Never talk s**t about someone’ – Daniel Ricciardo recalls Jacques Villeneuve war-of-words

Torn apart by Jacques Villeneuve at the Canadian Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo says he would “never talk s**t” like that about another driver.

Struggling to get off the mark in Grands Prix, Ricciardo took to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve back in June with his only points having come from a P4 finish at the Miami Sprint.

Daniel Ricciardo: Don’t get agitated, get motivated

Sky Sports guest pundit Villeneuve didn’t hold back as he questioned “why” Ricciardo is “still” in Formula 1, adding: “We’re hearing the same thing now for the last four or five years, we have to make the car better for him. Sorry, it’s been five years of that.”

The Honey Badger rose to the challenge to score his first Sunday points with a P8 in Montreal. But that wasn’t enough for Villeneuve.

Declaring Ricciardo’s results “have not been there”, he called out the Aussie for his “childish and insulting” response to his criticism.

“He’s not lived up to expectations and he’s not consistent so he knows he’s not up to speed and he hasn’t had results that have been good enough,” the 1997 World Champion continued. “It’s that simple.

“There’s nothing wrong with saying that. Saying it might hurt but you’re in F1, just take it and move on. The truth hurts.”

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It’s not hurt that Ricciardo is feeling, rather he he “disappointed” that Villeneuve felt he could speak that way about someone.

“In Montreal, Jacques was talking some stuff and there were a few things where I had a chip on my shoulder,” he told Mirror Sport. “I was like, ‘Alright, if you guys want to test me, let’s go’. I think I responded well to some of that.

“Normally I don’t read it, but the team makes you aware of it, to prepare me for things that have been said. It does work me up… this is a World Champion as well, in Jacques’ case, it’s someone who knows the sport.

“I could comment on other drivers and be like, ‘Yeah, he’s gone through a rough patch’, but I would never talk s**t about someone because I can relate and I know what they’ve gone through. No one can strap themselves and do this, it’s such a rare sport.

“I was more disappointed, but I thought, ‘If some people think that way, time for me to remind them that I’m still here’. I used it to my advantage, but it’s fine.

“I know people have opinions. I just thought, ‘Don’t get agitated, get motivated’.”

Adding two more top ten Grand Prix results to his tally, Ricciardo is up to 12 points in the Drivers’ standings and has been handed a reprieve by VCARB as he will continue in the car after the summer break.

“It’s definitely clicking a bit more,” he said. “Canada was definitely a bigger turning point. I had the new chassis in China and Miami worked better.

“I had a couple of not-as-good ones and then in Canada, there was a lot on the line. There was talk already of me maybe losing my seat and I was like, ‘Okay, everything I’ve done so far this year, for whatever reason, hasn’t worked the way I wanted – I need to try to change a few things’.”

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