F1 pundit claims Jacques Villeneuve’s criticism brought out the Daniel Ricciardo “of old” in Canada

F1 pundit Tom Clarkson reckoned that Jacques Villeneuve's comments might've motivated Daniel Ricciardo at the Canadian GP.

F1 pundit claims Jacques Villeneuve’s criticism brought out the Daniel Ricciardo “of old” in Canada

Jacques Villeneuve and Daniel Ricciardo (Via: Imago)

Daniel Ricciardo has been struggling to make a mark in F1 since returning to the grid late last season. The Australian driver got into a war of words with former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve before the Canadian GP. Now, F1 pundit Tom Clarkson reckoned that this brought out the Ricciardo of old during the Montreal weekend.

Villeneuve had questioned Daniel Ricciardo’s place on the grid. The 34-year-old gave a blunt reply to the Canadian, asking him to ‘eat s**t.’ Clarkson reckoned that perhaps criticism from Jacques Villeneuve motivated him. As the Honey Badger had a strong outing in Montreal, finishing in P8 and bringing some crucial points for RB.

He came in for some criticism from former world champion Jacques Villeneuve. I don’t know whether that was the source of motivation for Daniel but I’d say it was a really strong weekend for him.
Tom Clarkson said on the F1 Nations Podcast
YouTube video

Moreover, Tom Clarkson claimed that the Canadian GP was perhaps the strongest weekend of the Australian driver since he was called up by RB (then AlphaTauri) to replace Nyck de Vries last season. Clarkson suggested that Villeneuve’s comments brought out the old Daniel Ricciardo, when the 34-year-old was at the peak of his career at Red Bull.

FS Video
Certainly his strongest since he came back to F1 in the middle of last season. I’d say the Daniel of old…
Tom Clarkson stated

Daniel Ricciardo silenced critics with Canadian GP performance

F1 reporter Natalie Pinkham claimed that Jacques Villeneuve was entitled to his opinion. However, Pinkham reckoned that the Canadian had a rather ‘over simplistic’ view on Ricciardo’s F1 career. The Briton highlighted that Daniel Ricciardo had not completely struggled in his last five seasons in the sport.

Jacques is entitled to his opinion. I think it was a somewhat over simplistic view of Daniel’s career. To say he’s been five years in the sport, and struggled throughout, isn’t true.
Natalie Pinkham said
Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo (via IMAGO)

Moreover, Pinkham was glad to see the Australian driver silence his critics in the ‘best possible way’ by a strong outing in Montreal. Although, the F1 reporter highlighted that an issue at RB forced Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda lose a few places at the start of the Grand Prix.

it was great to see Daniel quieten his critics in the best possible way, on the track. That Qualy was fantastic. It was disappointing to see him and Yuki lose places at the start. There was an issue there.
Natalie Pinkham asserted

Certainly, Daniel Ricciardo will be hoping to build upon his Canadian GP result and score points in the upcoming races. The Australian driver is yet to secure his future at RB for next season. As such, the Honey Badger must match if not outperform Yuki Tsunoda in the coming races to ensure that he stays at the pinnacle of motorsport in 2025.

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