Villeneuve: 'Tires contributed to Verstappen and Leclerc fight'

Jacques Villeneuve enjoyed the first Grand Prix of 2022. The new regulations promised better racing and, according to the 1997 world champion, it has worked out well so far. In addition, he also saw a big improvement when it came to the tires.

During the Bahrain Grand Prix, fans were treated to a spectacular battle between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc. Three times the Dutchman managed to overtake the Ferrari driver in turn one, but three times Leclerc took back the lead in turn four.

Tires contributed to Verstappen and Leclerc fight

Villeneuve said to Formule1.com that he enjoyed the fight between Verstappen and Leclerc. According to the Canadian, the fight was hard against hard, but it was a fair fight. What stood out were the tires. The new tires overheat much less according to Villeneuve, so the fight between Verstappen and Leclerc lasted several laps. The new tires are said to be more flexible now and also a lot easier to work with.

What is also interesting is that the undercut works less well during pit stops. As of 2022, tires are not as preheated as hot as they were in 2021, so drivers will come out of the pits on colder tires. This results in less grip in the first laps after a pit stop.