Villeneuve: 'Almost half of Ricciardo's F1 career has been bad'

Alpine must look for a new driver. Following Fernando Alonso's departure, junior Oscar Piastri has also signed a contract with another team. Jacques Villeneuve believes Daniel Ricciardo and Pierre Gasly are both not good options for the team.

It looked like Gasly was the big favourite to make the switch to Alpine. Red Bull Racing is interested in IndyCar driver Colton Herta, who would replace Gasly at AlphaTauri. However, it is more difficult than expected to arrange a super licence for the American.

Villeneuve tells F1 TV over the weekend in Monza that he does not think Gasly is a sensible option for Alpine. "The two [Gasly and Ocon] don’t get along, so don’t put them together, and he’s under contract and you have to move mountains to get him, so it doesn’t make sense. And Gasly hasn’t had a very good season in general.”

'Almost half of Ricciardo's career has been bad'

Ricciardo is also facing criticism from the former Formula One driver. Alpine would not be interested in the Australian's return to the team. Villeneuve is not surprised that the McLaren driver is not on the team's list. "Why should he be? He’s done two awful years at Renault, two even worse years at McLaren, that’s four years and how long has he been in F1 total? Almost half his F1 career has been bad and that’s when he’s had experience, so there’s no reason, especially for a team he has already driven for."

According to the Canadian, modern F1 cars do not suit Ricciardo's driving style. Villeneuve therefore believes Alpine should give its junior Jack Doohan a chance. "Instead of spending a year preparing him like they did with Piastri, just put him in the deep end and see what happens."