Jaques Villeneuve: Modern F1 is Artificial

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/26178312

Former world champion Jacques Villeneuve believes Formula 1 has become "artificial" and is in danger of losing the respect of its fans.

The 42-year-old Canadian, who won the 1997 title for Williams, criticised the DRS system and the decision to award double points in the final race.

"I don't get modern Formula 1. They started going the artificial way to create a fake show," he told BBC Sport.

He added drivers "lack personality" and should speak out against the changes.
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Villeneuve - one of only three drivers to have won the Formula 1 world title, the Indycar Championship and the Indy 500 - believes the changes made to F1 since he left the sport in 2006 have not improved it.

A major rule change for the 2014 season is the decision to award double points at the final race in an attempt to heighten interest in the World Championship.

DRS - drag reduction system - was introduced in 2011 to increase overtaking and in turn make F1 more exciting for its fans.

"Imposing DRS where you press a button to overtake someone else - once you start going down that route you cannot stop, you have to make more and more of it," said Villeneuve.

"So now we have double points for the last race. What's the next thing that will come?

"It becomes more and more artificial and instead of having a positive effect, you end up making it where people don't respect it any more."

Villeneuve, who will drive for the Scottish team, Albatec Racing, in World Rallycross next season, believes drivers are "highly uninteresting" in the sport.

"It's a habit now to not have a personality any more in Formula 1," he told BBC Radio 5 live Sport.

"You can imagine a driver that gets a lot of sponsor money being told 'don't say that please' and he will toe the line.

"So they are not fast, paid to race and highly uninteresting on top of it. It is tough for F1 right now."

Listen to the full interview with Jacques Villeneuve on BBC Radio 5 live from 19:00 GMT.

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You do get the impression that what Jaques says is right. Sponsorship is always important and that is a necessity, but he is right about rule changes and the pathetic DRS button.

The turbo route is absolutely fine by me, it harks back to some wonderful times and the driver skill looks much more a focal point this year with the torque of these things, but not the energy recovery systems please!

F1 is just 22 cars on a small few mile radius every year- not the billion drivers in India, USA, or China. By all means, lets be energy efficient with road cars and be totally green, but let F1 be a sport.

How do you feel about F1? I feel like Turbo has so much potential and is a real step in the right direction but they just need to get rid of the flimsy stuff like DRS and ERS.

 

It's not often I agree with what JV has to say but we all know he is right?

 

Unanimous agreement i'd say.

 

He's right, but I guess when things are tough economically it's even more important to chase the casual viewers, depressing as it may be. Hopefully once Bernie's replaced we can return to a serious sport though!

 

I think the problem is not DRS in itself but the silly rules about how it can be implemented. Let drivers use it whenever they want. Yes, it wouldn't help you pass another car on a long straight if you are both using it, but perhaps using it tactically elsewhere might give you an advantage. And if the F1 policy makers want greater efficiency from F1 cars, reducing drag on the straights surely has a benefit in fuel efficiency.

Not really got a problem with energy recovery either. The new ERS systems are there to increase overall power all the time rather than in a push-to-pass way (although it has been hinted that some teams may find ways of doing this). I don't see that they detract from the spectacle in any way, they are just a part of power production. I do agree that F1 shouldn't feel the need to be more environmentally friendly as an end in itself; however this sort of energy recovery will become increasingly commonplace and F1 should be at the forefront of engine technology.

As for a lack of characters, I think what we really have is a lack of on track action. If you had a situation where top drivers were regularly scrapping it out at the top of the championship and where fierce rivalries could be played out regularly on the track we would see a few more fireworks on and off it. Also with the car reliability over the last few years and race tactics made using computer modelling there is a less human element to the racing, less room for mistakes and for less room for inspiration.

I do understand where Villeneuve is coming from, and I realise I am going to tend to disagree with him largely just because he is Jacques Villeneuve, but the problems I have with F1 are not really these ones. I'm more concerned about silly tracks in any country that will pay enough money and silly rules over tyres.

 

Nice one, Eddie…

 

I think Eddie summed up all of my feelings in one post. Not much point responding with much else.

 

JV what a legend.

 

^

 

P.S. Perhaps it is unfair to exploit the nature of the internet in this way, but I believe it is entirely in keeping with J.V.'s own philosophy – so I will!

Whilst I sympathise with some of the essence of what J.V. says, in my opinion, he has tended to look at (and publicly state) things from a somewhat narrow perspective, rather than display a real understanding of what I would regard as a wider picture. Perhaps he would argue this as "speaking his mind, contrary to the (F1) norm"…
–But can it be pure coincidence that his outspoken stance sounds bitter? To me, he gives the impression of deriding everything 'F1' since being shown for what he was (and effectively ousted by) Jenson Button, especially after publicly attempting to undermine his new and in-coming team-mate before he arrived.

I'll go so far as to say that I think his public criticisms of F1 are selective. (So long as they do not show him in poor light, perhaps?). Bye-bye JV: you owe F1 (and its politics which you selectively criticise!) far more than F1 owes one of its bitter 'has-beens'…

 

I actually rated JV. He just losed his motivation from about 2002 to when he left, before that he was good I thought and without team orders and bad luck in 1996 he probably would have beaten Hill.

 

Team orders in 1996? Hey? Hill was a way better driver than Villeneuve.

 

I tend to take what he says with a pinch of salt. He is good at making controversial statements when he needs a bit of publicity for something he is doing.

 

I believe he's just entered WRX (Rallycross)......... It all makes sense

 

Helps him fill out those oversized overalls.

 

Martin Brundle ‏@MBrundleF1 22m
Angers me when former F1 drivers stick a boot into F1 for publicity. They had privileged chances, success,cash. Give something positive back

 

He has the same view as cosi then....

 

. And exactly the same view at that.

 

Hmmmmm.......the plot thickens!

 

It'd be funny if Cosi revealed his true identity and turned out to be Chilton or Di Resta. That would be an awkward moment around these parts...