Villeneuve unhappy with Verstappen's punishment: 'Belongs to Formula 1'

While the British analysts mainly blame Max Verstappen for the crash with Lewis Hamilton, the Dutchman gets support from an unexpected corner. At Corriere.it Jacques Villeneuve speaks out about the penalty Verstappen received.

Villeneuve has become a bigger and bigger fan of Verstappen over the years. While the Canadian was his biggest critic when Verstappen made his debut, that has changed over time. In the interview with the Italian medium, he states that the Dutchman should not have received a penalty.

''No, because in Monza it was the two of us. Max was aggressive. He could have cut the chicane, but then he would have had to give up his spot. Lewis could have given ten centimeters more space, but he wanted to stay in front. So it's about the intentions. You can't punish someone and think it was intentional, while the contact happened meters before the moment,'' says the 1997 world champion.

''Verstappen is always very aggressive, but with Hamilton, he is even more aggressive. Then when you put those two together in a corner, they start to overdo it. But these moments are part of Formula 1. If you start giving penalties for this every time, then they will never race again because they don't dare to overtake,'' Villeneuve concludes.