Villeneuve slams Perez for 'dirty blocking' move

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Jacques Villeneuve has lashed out at Force India's Sergio Perez following what the Canadian labeled a 'dirty' move by the Mexican at Spa.

Whenever there's a controversial moment in F1 it usually draws a controversial reaction the 1997 worlc champion, but this time he may just have a majority opinion on his side.

Reflecting on the on-track spats between Perez and team Esteban Ocon which took place in Sunday's Belgian GP, Villeneuve clearly lays the blame on Perez.

"It doesn’t matter that it’s his teammate," he said.

"Teammate, no teammate, it should not have happened between two drivers. You’re not so supposed to put anyone in danger.

"You can brake too late, make a mistake, fine, but down the straight you don’t weave and squish, you just don’t do that. It’s ridiculous.

"A piece of carbon went outside of the track. You can hurt someone from the public. This has to be stopped.

"That kind of move from Perez is not racing, it’s pure blocking. You don’t do that. It’s aggressive. It’s dirty."

In the heat of the moment, a livid Esteban Ocon expressed his anger at his team mate, tweeting "Perez tried to kill me 2 times!"

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"Ocon didn’t lift to prove a point, I guess. It’s ego, it’s an internal battle to see who would be the strongest in the team. There is this ego thing going on," Villeneuve added.

"Ocon was very ballsy, especially in the first one. Wow. He kept in it. That was impressive."

While dire consequences were fortunately avoided, Villeneuve believes the Stewards should have intervened.

"This is the most dangerous thing you can do in racing and they never penalise that in F1," he said.

"Sometimes, people crash into each other because they messed up their braking and their fighting.

That should not be penalised but they penalise that because there was an accident.

"This was embarrassing. They don’t give a penalty for it, especially when the FIA is pushing so much the safety.

"Even a four-year-old could see it. It’s ridiculous."

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.