Villeneuve praises Alonso: 'Still hungry, unlike Vettel'

Jacques Villeneuve certainly knows success in Formula 1: after all, he became world champion in 1997. Now, the Canadian takes a look at the current talents and praises Fernando Alonso's performance.

Alonso managed to secure third place in Bahrain. He did so with spectacular overtaking (seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, among others, was beaten by the Spaniard) and with the help of an extremely fast Aston Martin.

An expert from experience, Villeneuve thinks Alpine definitely suffers from Alonso's departure to the English team. The Spaniard is still full of fighting spirit and his dream of becoming world champion again lives on, and that at 41 years old.

"[That] age [definitely] matters. If you get to a point where you no longer have that desire and willingness to take risks [like Sebastian Vettel last year], you might as well quit. Alonso showed that he is still as hungry as he was twenty years ago, and his experience helped him finish third," Villeneuve told Le Journal de Montréal.

Had Alpine had a car last year as competitive as the Aston Martin is now, Alonso might have stayed. However, the Spaniard was always someone who is out for the team that, in his eyes, offers the best opportunities (which incidentally led to some lesser choices), and his choice of Aston Martin certainly does not appear to be unfounded.