Villeneuve, the 1997 F1 world champion, caused a stir in Montreal when he told Sky that he did not know why Ricciardo, an eight-time grand prix winner, was still around the sport.
He said: “Why is he still in F1? We’re hearing the same thing for the last five years. We have to ‘make the car better for him, poor him.’ No. You’re in F1. If you can’t cut it, go home.”
But Ricciardo delivered the perfect response to Villeneuve as he qualified fifth for the Canadian Grand Prix.
And speaking afterwards about sending out a message over what was said, Ricciardo said: “I heard he has been talking shit, but he always does. I think he has hit his head a few too many times.
“I don’t know if he plays ice hockey or something, but I won’t give him the time of day. All those people can suck it. I want to say more but we will leave him behind.”
Daniel Ricciardo, RB F1 Team VCARB 01
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Self-therapy after Monaco
Ricciardo said that his best qualifying of the season outside of the Miami sprint, where he started fourth, was the result of both his RB car feeling comfortable, but also a new approach he has taken after some soul-searching post-Monaco.
He said the disappointment of the Monte Carlo weekend had prompted him to dig deep into the factors that he felt were stopping him delivering what he felt he could this year.
“I was always looking at the on-track stuff, ‘I can brake later here, or do this and that,'” he said. “But it was like OK, what are some other things that are affecting my performances?
“Am I coming into a race weekend not feeling energised or not feeling this or that?’ So I probably had a good bit of self-therapy after Monaco.
“I sat back and had a look at maybe the things I am doing wrong away from the track, maybe giving too much time away to people and by the time I get to race day, I’m a little bit more flat.
“I know it’s in me, so as I said, we are always going to be trying to fine-tune the car but deep down, I know what I can do and it is just making sure I am in the spot to do it more often. Trying to take as much accountability as possible.”
Daniel Ricciardo, RB F1 Team
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Ricciardo said that it had been important for both himself and the team to be honest about what had not been working beforehand.
“After Monaco, because it was a weekend where I was a bit down emotionally after not doing well on a track I love, with everyone around me,…
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