Jacques Villeneuve speaks out as Daniel Ricciardo leaves him red-faced at Canadian GP

Jacques Villeneuve continued his war of words with Daniel Ricciardo after the Aussie left him red-faced by qualifying fifth at the Canadian Grand Prix. Villeneuve caused a storm on Friday when he suggested that Ricciardo no longer deserves a place in Formula One after years of underachievement.

The 53-year-old declared that Ricciardo, who has won just one Grand Prix in the last six years, should 'go home' and be replaced by somebody else. He also pointed to Ricciardo's public image as the main reason that he is still on the grid as opposed to his results.

Ricciardo was fired up by Villeneuve's criticism and hit back in the perfect way by qualifying fifth, with the Aussie just 0.178 seconds adrift of pole-sitter George Russell. After the session, he issued a fiery response to Villeneuve by telling him to 'eat s**t' and vowing not to give him the 'time of day'.

Villeneuve went on to take credit for Ricciardo's strong performance by insisting that his comments gave the VCARB driver the push he needed. He also doubled down on his criticism by suggesting that one good qualifying result was not enough to invalidate the points he made on Friday.

"He needs the push, the pressure, and it paid off," said Villeneuve. "It’s working well, the car suits him this weekend and when you have a car that suits you, you drive at your best.

"That was one good qualifying. If he can carry on this weekend like this then do four, five, six more races like that, then he’ll be fine. But like he said, he’s been lacking consistency this year."

Ricciardo is only tied down to VCARB until the end of 2024, meaning he faces an uncertain future on the grid. He will be hoping to earn a contract extension but will face stiff competition from Liam Lawson, who impressed last season when Ricciardo was sidelined with a broken hand.

Reflecting on his performance after qualifying in Montreal, Ricciardo said: "I think this year hasn't really been always a question of if I've still got the speed to do it, it's just been the consistency, which I haven't been able to show week in, week out.

"It's definitely been more of a struggle, or more than I thought, but I know the speed is there and it's just tapping into it and I look at myself first. You're always trying to fine tune the car but I feel like it's more just getting myself in that sweet spot. Maybe 10 years ago it came easier.

"Maybe when you're a kid, you just jump in and drive, and the older you get, the more things are around your life and involved, and can maybe interfere."