Former F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve says it’s no surprise to him that Daniel Ricciardo doesn’t appear to be a strong contender for the vacant Alpine F1 seat in 2023.
Fernando Alonso announced last month that he will leave the Alpine F1 team at the end of the year and join Aston Martin. Various drivers have been associated with Alpine’s F1 seat, but Daniel Ricciardo, who spent two years with the team in 2019 and 2020, is not mentioned as a favorite.
Daniel Ricciardo has endured two difficult campaigns at McLaren, with both sides agreeing to end his contract a year early at the end of 2022.
However, with Daniel Ricciardo’s future uncertain, a return to Alpine seems unlikely.
Asked if he was surprised Daniel Ricciardo was not the frontrunner to drive, Jacques Villeneuve told F1TV: “Why should he be?”
“He had two bad years at Renault, two worse years at McLaren. Four years, so how many years has he spent in F1 in total?”
“Almost half of his Formula 1 career has been bad, but that’s when he got the experience. Especially for a team he’s already driven for, there’s no reason.”
“He was impressive at Red Bull. He had great overtaking and was ahead of Max[Verstappen]. Modern cars don’t seem to suit his driving style.”
“But Max was new to F1 and by the end of the 2018 season Max started to outperform him. That’s when he moved.”
“That switch happened that didn’t work for him and he hasn’t recovered.”
Pierre Gasly is rumored to be in contention for a drive despite extending his contract with AlphaTauri until the end of 2023. Alpine F1 Team has Esteban Ocon under contract until 2024, meaning an all-French line-up.
But Jacques Villeneuve questioned the potential lineup amid reports of Gasly and Ocon not getting along.
“It’s strange, they already have a French driver,” said Villeneuve.
“The two[Guthrie and Ocon]don’t get along, so it’s better not to put them together.”
“It doesn’t make sense because he has a contract and you have to move mountains to get him, and Gasly in general hasn’t had a very good season.”
Category: F1 / Daniel Ricardo / Jacques Villeneuve / Alpine