Villeneuve slams 'shameful' Verstappen comparison to father

Villeneuve slams 'shameful' Verstappen comparison to father

Martin Macdonald

Thursday 14 June 2018 14:51

Former Formula One champion Jacques Villeneuve has taken offence to Niki Lauda comparing Max Verstappen to his father, Giles Villeneuve, in terms of the way the pair opted to aggressively drive on the edge during racing, saying the comparison is "shameful".

Gilles most famously drove for Ferrari during his F1 career which was tragically cut short during the qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix in which he was involved in a fatal collision. During his six seasons in the sport, he won six races and finished as runner-up in the 1979 driver's championship.

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He was aggressive during races and would regularly attempt overtakes on other drivers, and this personality led to Lauda comparing him to Max Verstappen, who has similar traits but who has received criticism this season following a series of collisions during races, most notably with Sebastian Vettel and his own team-mate, Daniel Ricciardo.

Lauda said the pair were both "hot-headed" on the track, but Jacques Villeneuve has taken offence to the comparison.

“I admit I was shocked to be told that Niki Lauda had dared to compare Gilles to Max Verstappen,” he told Le Journal de Montreal.

“It is shameful."

Villeneuve even suggested the comments from Lauda may have been born out of jealousy that the Austrian was once replaced by Gilles at Ferrari, but did admit to some minor similarities between his father and Verstappen.READ MORE: READ MORE:

“Maybe Lauda still has a problem with Ferrari’s decision to replace him with my father. ... I agree that the Red Bull driver takes risks like my father did, but there is a big difference – my father had respect for his opponents and learned from his mistakes.”

“His education was completely different. Unlike Verstappen, Gilles would not block or change course direction on the track,” the 1997 world champion added. “Quite frankly I don’t understand the comparison at all.”