Fans shocked as F1 champion delivers savage takedown of Daniel Ricciardo: ‘Just witnessed a murder on live TV’

Former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve has questioned why Aussie Daniel Ricciardo is still in F1 and believes his image ultimately saved his career in a savage live TV tirade.

The 34-year-old is desperately clinging to the hope that he can end his career where he started, at Red Bull, despite the door seemingly slamming shut when the team extended Sergio Perez’s contract earlier this week.

After two years at Renault and another two at McLaren, Ricciardo hoped to rejoin the top team alongside Max Verstappen and put pressure on the Mexican driver in 2023.

Although Perez has not excelled and is currently fifth in the 2024 Drivers’ Championship, his four podium finishes in eight races ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix weekend convinced Red Bull to extend his contract for a further two years.

It is a heavy blow for Ricciardo, who is six months older than Perez and now has to fight to keep his seat at the Visa Cash App RB team after a disastrous season.

Former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve has questioned why Daniel Ricciardo is still in F1

Ricciardo currently drives for Visa Cash App RB and is fighting to extend his career

Now 1997 F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve has spoken out against the Australian driver, telling him to give up and ‘go home’.

‘Why is he still in F1? Why?’ Villeneuve was furious with Sky Sports F1.

‘We’ve been hearing the same thing for four or five years now. “We have to make the car better for him.” Sorry, it’s been five years. No, you’re in F1.

‘Maybe you make that effort for Lewis Hamilton, who has won several championships. You don’t make that effort for a driver who won’t make it.

‘If you don’t make it, go home, there is someone else who can take your place. That’s how it’s always been in racing, it’s the pinnacle of the sport.

‘There’s no reason to keep going and keep making excuses, and you’re all talking about that first season or the first two seasons, he beat a Vettel who was burned out, who was trying to figure things out with the car to go and win and just making a mess of his weekends.

‘Then he beat Verstappen for half a season when Verstappen was 18 years old, just starting out, that was it, then he stopped beating anyone.’

The door seemed closed on a fairytale return to Red Bull this week when the team re-signed Sergio Perez

Ricciardo enjoyed great success during his first stint at Red Bull, including winning the Monaco GP in 2018

Ricciardo also achieved one of his most famous victories in Italy while driving for McLaren

Asked whether he thinks Ricciardo’s career is overrated, Villeneuve said: “I think his image has kept him in F1 more than his actual results.”

F1 fans were baffled by the harsh assessment of Ricciardo’s career, even though he is closer to the end than the beginning.

“It doesn’t surprise me and it doesn’t change anything for me,” Ricciardo told Sky F1 about Perez’s new deal.

“It’s clearly my goal: at some point I would like to be back there [at Red Bull]. But I also know that my season has not been spectacular. I had a spectacular moment I think in Miami, but other than that I’ve been a bit up and down.

‘And look, I’ve been doing this long enough, I know that I want to do better.

‘I think after the first few races I was very focused on getting the most out of myself here. And because of that, I may have the most control over my future.

“So I probably haven’t been great enough so far, but I’m still happy to be here and just be part of the Red Bull family again.

“So we keep going and yeah, I don’t think that means it will never happen. But we’ll see.’