In the ever-turbulent world of Formula 1, few things grab attention like Jacques Villeneuve unleashing a verbal broadside.
And the 1997 World Champion did just that following the Hungarian Grand Prix, zeroing in on Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda with the kind of candor that only Villeneuve can deliver.
The Canadian didn’t hold back, branding Max Verstappen’s the Japanese driver as “probably the worst” teammate the four-time world champion superstar has ever had. Meanwhile, Tsunoda himself remains defiant, insisting he’s closing the gap to the formidable flying Dutchman.
A Scathing Verdict
In Hungary, Tsunoda failed to make the Q2 cut in qualifying while Verstappen concluded Saturday’s grid-defining session a lowly P8. On race day, Verstappen clocked in ninth while Tsunoda was just 17th.
The disappointing performance was but a snapshot in time for both drivers, but it was nevertheless the seventh race in succession in which Tsunoda failed to deliver a top-ten finish to his team.
And Villeneuve properly laid into the Japanese driver’s performance during a post-race analysis, pointing to the yawning gap between Verstappen and his teammate.
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“Tsunoda is probably the worst of them all so far,” he told F1 event website Vision4Sport.
“A lot of people say it’s unfair, that the car is made for Max. But Max might be the only one who actually gives good feedback to the team. So yes, they develop the car, so it gets better and better for him.”
A Tough Act to Follow
Villeneuve argued that Red Bull isn’t deliberately sabotaging their second driver but that Verstappen’s exceptional talent makes it tough for anyone to measure up.
“They’re not there trying to make it difficult for the number two driver. The thing is, there’s not many like Max,” he said.
“If you look in the past, there were more than one at his level in the paddock. And then you had a few good drivers. And then a few average as well.”
But in Villeneuve’s view, that balance has changed.
“Now there are a lot of good drivers instead of only a few,” he argued.
“You don’t really have exceptional drivers anymore. So Max really stands out. So it’s hard to put someone next to him. Because if all the drivers that fight each other are barely good, they’ll all look great amongst each other.
“That’s until you get someone like Max and you think, ‘Okay, maybe they’re all not good enough.’ So is it the fact that all the drivers that have been paired with Max so far have all been average drivers?”
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Villeneuve even suggested it’s time to give Verstappen a genuine challenge in the same car.
“It would be good to see a Leclerc next to Max to see how good he really is,” he added. “Or it’d be good to put Alonso now next to Max, because that’s a known quantity. It’d be good to put Norris next to Max, so we would really see if Norris is exceptional or is he just very good?
“That would help to quantify things. We know that Max is exceptional but then the drivers next to him have just not been good enough and there’s no point saying, ‘Oh poor them.’ No, they’re just not good enough. That’s it. They’re barely good.”
Tsunoda: "We are only one tenth off his pace"
While Villeneuve’s barrage was brutal, Yuki Tsunoda isn’t backing down. The Japanese driver insists he’s making real strides in narrowing the gulf to Verstappen—especially in qualifying.
“The gap with Max continues to close, it may not feel like we are getting there but on paper we are only one tenth off his pace,” Tsunoda said after the race in Hungary. “I’m not sure many other drivers could get as close to him.”
For Tsunoda, a recent floor upgrade to his car has been a major factor in his improved competitiveness. And he’s clearly not afraid to put in the extra hours to close that elusive final gap.
“I am heading straight to the factory tomorrow to go into the [simulator],” he revealed. “We need to investigate where we went wrong and put in some hard work over the summer break so that we don’t start the next half of the season how we finished this one.
“It’s frustrating but we will stay positive and bounce back stronger.”
Verstappen remains the immovable object at the top of the Red Bull mountain, but if Tsunoda wants to silence critics like Villeneuve, he’ll need more than simulator sessions and good intentions. He’ll need to perform on par with the Dutchman.
As the F1 summer break kicks in, one thing’s for sure: when the season resumes, all eyes will be on whether Yuki Tsunoda can translate fighting words into front-running results.
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