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Villeneuve slams Stroll as "one of the worst rookies in F1"

Published on 12 Jun 2017 10:44
10
By: Fergal Walsh

Jacques Villeneuve has opened up on his criticism of Lance Stroll following the 18-year-old's ninth place in Montreal. Villeneuve has labelled Stroll as one of the worst rookies in the history of Formula 1. Stroll has been unable to match his teammate Felipe Massa so far this season but got a points breakthrough yesterday when he crossed the line in ninth place.

"He is more than a second slower than Felipe," the 1997 world champion told the Austrian broadcaster ORF. "Results speak for themselves. It is one of the worst rookie performances in the history of Formula 1."

Stroll is aware of the criticism coming from observers like Villeneuve, but he said in Montreal: "I don't care what people think. I'm happy for me and the team. The rest is noise. People who do not like me will always find excuses.

"I always had confidence," he told Le Journal de Montreal after claiming two points the Canadain Grand Prix. "I also know there will be nothing easy about the next races. There's a lot of room for improvement and we're working hard for more good results," Stroll added.

Fergal Walsh

f1fan0101

Posts: 1,804

What a prat, just because your rookie year was great doesn't mean everyone else's has to be.

2
Jun 12 2017 - 11:21

F1 News Felipe Massa Lance Stroll

Replies (10)

juju_hound

Posts: 180
This guy is extremely happy scoring two points, I know this is a relief for him but come on dude you have to doing better than this!!
- + 0
- Jun 12 2017 - 10:52
f1fan0101

Posts: 1,804
What a prat, just because your rookie year was great doesn't mean everyone else's has to be.
- + 2
- Jun 12 2017 - 11:21
F1todayfan101

Posts: 120
JV is a chump
- + 1
- Jun 12 2017 - 11:54
calle.itw

Posts: 8,527
Does anyone genuinly get mad att Villeneuve anymore? I certainly dont take his words very seriously. Stroll has had bad luck in several races so far, and he did a good job here. Be happy for him. He is far from the worst the grid has seen, and time will tell if he has the ability to progress or not.
- + 0
- Jun 12 2017 - 12:21
- Kevin
  
  Posts: 5,332
  He didn't do a good job at all imo. That Williams is good enough to take the fight to the Red Bulls in Montreal. He couldn't even drive away from Alonso! It was top speed that got him in front, and that was it. From that point on, he was losing massive amounts of time to #8.
  + 1
  
  Jun 12 2017 - 13:27
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  I agree it wasnt a stellar drive, nothing out of the ordinary, but he stayed out of trouble and managed to get into the points. In my book, thats an acceptable performance.
  + 0
  
  Jun 12 2017 - 14:18
- boudy
  
  Posts: 1,168
  @CALLE.ITW
  
  I think you got a valid point, ok race from him. However it's a shame that Williams now has to resort to this type of driver. If driver decision was only based on talent he really should be in that Williams;but is not;and he is.
  + 0
  
  Jun 12 2017 - 18:33
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  He is a paydriver, but he has also won a championship. Give him time. For all we know he might have a slow start.
  + 0
  
  Jun 12 2017 - 21:43
ajpennypacker

Posts: 2,475
Jaques is a douche, but I like that he's around to be a character and speak his mind without filter. Not a whole lot of characters in Formula 1.

My view:

Felipe Massa: 20
Lance Stroll : 2

He is a severely underperforming rookie. He shouldn't have been in the points. He would have definitely finished behind Verstappe, Massa, Sainz, and maybe Kvyat. He did do well staying out of trouble, but that's hardly something to be complemented about on a dry race with perfect weather. That being said, I would still give some time to Stroll to show what he can do.
- + 1
- Jun 12 2017 - 18:03
boudy

Posts: 1,168
JV spend the whole of pre-season propping Lance up. Strange that in a race where he actually scores points JV gives these remarks.
- + 0
- Jun 12 2017 - 18:35