Villeneuve: Verstappen ‘will not spend time helping’ Gasly

1997 Formula 1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve feels Max Verstappen ‘will not spend time helping’ Red Bull teammate Pierre Gasly to focus on his own season.

Gasly has struggled the first couple of races in comparison to Verstappen, who achieved an impressive podium in Australia with the new Honda engine beating the Ferrari’s.

After the departure of Daniel Ricciardo from the team last year Red Bull’s focus has more or less been put on their leader Verstappen.

Villeneuve said to Dutch publication racingnews365: “Max will not spend his time helping his teammate and I agree with him on that.

“We are talking about formula one and at that level it is all about beating your teammate as well as possible.

 “Red Bull is built around Verstappen, so Gasly has no chance of beating Max this season.

“Gasly made little impression last year and was not consistent, but this year the pressure just seems too much for him.

“He’s gone to a team where there is already an absolute leader and he also has Helmut Marko over him.”

He says this in reference to winter testing where Gasly crashed the car twice to interrupt Red Bull’s preparations as Helmut Marko openly said.

“If things are not going well for you, if your teammate is too strong for you and you are also blamed for the poor performance of the entire team, then it can be too much for a young driver,” Villeneuve said.

“I don’t expect him to come close to Max this season.”