Jacques Villeneuve knows who Red Bull and Mercedes need

Jacques Villeneuve is one of the proponents of the theory that Fernando Alonso could be the best choice for Mercedes for next season and he spoke about this back in February, as soon as it was announced that Lewis Hamilton would move to Ferrari.

Now the Canadian has developed this theory and extended it to Carlos Sainz. According to him, both Spanish drivers can not only be a great fit for Mercedes, but also for Red Bull Racing, because it is also unclear what the composition of the champion team will be in 2025.

“Red Bull and Mercedes need drivers who can be aggressive, selfish when necessary, hungry for success and already know how to achieve it,” reasoned the 1997 world champion. – Only Fernando meets all these requirements. He could be a good choice. Although it remains to be seen whether this choice will be justified, as in the past some teams found it difficult to work with him. Others, however, had no such difficulties.

But teams like Red Bull and Mercedes are difficult to work with anyway. If you can’t please Helmut Marko or Toto Wolff, you will have problems and your life will become very difficult.

Another option could be Sainz. He is a very mature professional and a very smart driver. Carlos successfully demonstrated this both last year in Singapore and now in Australia by winning the race for Ferrari. Moreover, it was not Ferrari that ensured his victory.

He has many strengths, but can he squeeze the very last tenth out of the car Verstappen drives? I don’t know this. So far, I don’t know anyone who can compare to Max in terms of being able to fully utilize the car’s potential.”

Despite rumors that Verstappen could be George Russell’s partner at Mercedes next year, Villeneuve has strong doubts about this: “I cannot accept that Toto really wants to sign a contract with Max. The only reason he says he’s considering it is because he wants to irritate Red Bull.

I can’t imagine Verstappen playing for Mercedes, because this team lost the championship to him and Red Bull. I say this because I really like this racer. But Red Bull Racing is now torn by internal quarrels, everything is on the brink of chaos. Will this team be as good if Horner leaves? Complex issue. But will she win without Verstappen? It is possible.”