F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve SLAMS 'pointless' Moto GP crossover

Photo: © IMAGO

F1 champion SLAMS 'pointless' motorsport crossover

Are two wheels better than four?

Stuart Telford

Wednesday 1 May 2024 15:57

Joint weekends between Formula 1 and MotoGP have been mooted after F1's owners bought the latter, but not everyone is enthused by the idea.

Liberty Media paid around £3.5 billion to acquire MotoGP at the start of April, with the deal expected to go through before the end of the year.

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"The business has significant upside, and we intend to grow the sport for MotoGP fans, teams, commercial partners and our shareholders," Liberty CEO Greg Maffei said on the deal at the time

But how that growth might be achieved remains open to speculation, and joint-weekends showcasing two-wheel and four-wheel disciplines at the same event have been discussed.

Jacques Villeneuve doesn't want joint-weekends

Villeneuve: 'I don't see the point'

Jacques Villeneuve, an F1 world champion with Williams in 1997, doesn't think a crossover event would be a good idea.

"I don't see the point of it for F1," he told CasinoOnlineIn. "It might be good for motorbikes.

"MotoGP is pretty much Spain v Italy in terms of riders with a few others thrown in. It is like a local championship which is not that appealing."

Canadian Villeneuve, son of former Ferrari star Gilles, has competed across multiple disciplines, winning the 1995 Indianapolis 500 and the 1995 PPG Indy Car World Series, and feels well placed to comment on the amount that MotoGP cost to acquire.

"The price is very high," he said. "That's giving a lot of value to MotoGP. And it's more than Liberty paid for F1. The sellers must be happy because they have made a big killing.

"Not sure how that synergy will work. The two worlds are so different. Even if you look at the fans, the riders and the drivers are two extremes. I am not sure what their plan is."

Red Bull Formula 1 Adrian Newey MotoGP Liberty Media