Jacques Villeneuve: I don’t understand Verstappen’s reaction

The 1997 world champion, Jacques Villeneuve, summarized the results of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix and commented on the most notable episodes of the last race.

Jacques Villeneuve: “The race weekend in Sao Paulo was excellent, perhaps one of the best of the season. The battle on the track continued every day from Friday to Sunday. Sometimes the sprint is more interesting than qualifying, sometimes less, but the main thing is that there is a battle on Friday and Saturday – this is the job of the sprint weekend format.

Of course the concept is still imperfect, but it works. In Sao Paulo, in the sprint, the riders acted aggressively and took risks.

George Russell had good control of both races. He was lucky to get a good starting position thanks to the red flags due to his own turn. The fact that Lewis Hamilton started behind helped Russell.

Suddenly Mercedes was very fast on the straights – for the first time in the season Red Bull were completely uncompetitive. I wonder, because of what Mercedes managed to add? This year there has not been a team that could change the situation like that, but Mercedes did it.

It would be a shame for Ferrari if they miss out on second place in the Constructors’ Championship. They were supposed to fight Red Bull, but something wasn’t working. The tire decision in qualifying turned out to be strange. Charles Leclerc said there was no rain, but the team claimed the opposite. It seems that the decision was made by robots based on some calculations. However, let’s not forget that Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc had a very strong race.

On Sunday a lot was said about radio communication. Leclerc asked the team if Sainz could let him pass, as Charles needed points in the battle for second place in the individual competition. I understand why Ferrari rejected him – Fernando Alonso was only a second behind Leclerc, and in such an exchange of positions the risk was too great. It was important for Ferrari to keep third and fourth place.

Sergio Perez asked for the same exchange of positions with Verstappen and I can’t understand Max’s reaction. Why does he care about sixth or seventh place? Nothing will change for him, but for the team and Perez, who have helped him in the past, it means a lot. Max was not even asked to give up the podium, as was the case with Sainz and Leclerc.

My main concern, however, is Lance Stroll and the FIA’s penal system. Verstappen was given a five-second penalty in a situation where Lewis Hamilton did not leave him enough space. Both acted aggressively – in my opinion it was a racing incident.

Lance Stroll received a 10-second penalty for a life-threatening maneuver on Saturday. On a straight line, you can’t change the track so sharply – this isn’t a race. He already did it in Austin, in Mexico he fought aggressively with Pierre Gasly, now this. The FIA ​​doesn’t penalize Stroll hard enough so he keeps doing it.

Sebastian Vettel, his partner, is a real gentleman. But I don’t think Fernando Alonso will be so calm next year.”