Villeneuve: Verstappen's strength? He's never been a child

Hard to argue that Verstappen is the best driver in F1 right now, already this season he powered to 14 wins. With is he wrapped up his third F1 title in a row with a classy victory at the challenging Qatar Grand Prix last time out.

Such is the superiority of the Max and Red Bull RB19 combination, that promoters are concerned - much as they were when Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes ruled the roost not too long ago - as fans switch off the final half dozen rounds of a long ago-decided Championship.

Asked by RN365 if Verstappen's dominance is damaging F1 from an entertainment and predictability perspective, Villeneuve scoffed at the notion: "Who cares if it's good for the sport? He's amazing. That's it. You should not stop that. He's managed to do it better than anybody else. He's managed to work with his engineer and his team to turn the car into a second skin.

"When you have that, you just sit in the car and you don't even think. The car does whatever you want it to. That's why every year for two or three races, Sergio Perez can beat Max. But then Max works and gets the car to do what he wants. Then he destroys Perez; that's what makes the difference.

"I had that end of 1996 and 1997. I would jump in the car and think: 'I know the car can do this,' and it does it. Or if it's wrong, a small little change, you talk with the engineers and it works. You don't have to think about it. And when you're like this, you'll drive two or three-tenths faster, just because you don't have to second guess what's happening," explained Villeneuve, 1997 F1 World Champion with Williams.

In a separate interview with GazzettaTV, Villeneuve added: "It is wrong to say that Red Bull is unbeatable. The unbeatable one is Verstappen. His strength? He has never been a child. He was already an adult when he was a child. He was made to be a champion. His father was very hard on him. The truth is that Verstappen has no weakness today."

As for drivers who impress him currently, Villeneuve pointed out two Spaniards, Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, and JVs former F1 rival, Aston Martin veteran Fernando Alonso.

The 52-year-old Canadian said: "I like Sainz because he is always improving and has always helped the teams he drives for. However, drivers are too protected these days. They should be given more freedom, even to make mistakes.

"I admire Fernando Alonso because he is hungry. That is the difference that makes a great driver. To all the guys who want to be drivers today, I would ask: do you do it out of passion or because you want to be Ricciardo, laughing in the commercials?" Villeneuve added, wickedly.

Daniel Ricciardo has been sidelined since breaking his hand during the Dutch Grand Prix weekend. He was substituted at AlphaTauri by Liam Lawson, but the Australian veteran is set to return to his cockpit in Austin next week for the United States Grand Prix.

Sainz is the only non-RBR driver to win a race, when he triumphed in Singapore, while Alonso has been pure gold for Aston Martin, the Spaniard doing the hard work and raking in the majority of the team's points while teammate Lance Stroll finds himself or whatever afflicts him.