Verstappen will be only personality left in F1 - Villeneuve

Jacques Villeneuve says Max Verstappen will wind up being the only Formula 1 driver with a shred of personality left on the grid once stars like Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen retire. Verstappen is never afraid to speak his mind, although this can often be in contrast to a safety-first approach to public relations across a multitude of sports.

A familiar lament of F1's modern era is that the kind of personalities that lit up previous periods are no longer prevalent.

Villeneuve, who competed against the likes of Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen and Fernando Alonso in F1, says it is a problem that will only get worse in years to come.

Asked if Alonso's departure from F1 was an issue, Villeneuve told Sport: "Of course. Fernando is a character, a gladiator of circuits, a driver with great personality and charisma.

"I wonder what will remain, apart from Verstappen, when the day comes that Alonso, Hamilton and Raikkonen have all left, since there are many drivers that people do not even know when they get out of the car.

"The drivers had more personality than the current ones, since with the arrival of 18-year-old drivers it has become banal."

Villeneuve says the direction that F1 has moved in as a whole is also a problem.

He said: "Formula 1 has decided to become a show, but in the best times of the series it was not thought to offer a show but a unique emotional and social event."

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