Jacques Villeneuve Slams Kimi Antonelli For Ending Charles Leclerc’s Race

1997 Formula 1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve has delivered a scathing assessment of Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli following his costly collision with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc at the Dutch Grand Prix.



The Italian teenager, who returned from the summer break eager to prove himself, instead left Zandvoort under fire after a sequence of errors that left pundits questioning whether he is ready for the sport’s top level.



Costly Mistakes at Zandvoort



Antonelli was battling for fifth place when he attempted an ambitious move on Leclerc at Turn 3.



The Mercedes driver launched an attack down the inside, but understeered into the Ferrari, forcing Leclerc into the wall and ending his race on the spot.



The incident earned Antonelli a 10-second penalty, which later grew to 15 seconds after he was caught speeding in the pit lane.



It capped off a disappointing weekend for the 19-year-old, whose rookie season has already been marked by inconsistency and high-pressure mistakes.



Villeneuve’s Harsh Criticism



Speaking on Sky F1 punditry duty, Villeneuve did not hold back in his analysis of Antonelli’s performance.



“Very poor. A move that you might see in Formula 4, Formula 3 from a driver who doesn’t have experience and just not calculated the way it should be,” Villeneuve said.



“When you’re in F1, you will make mistakes. You drive too hard your limit. But that was not even that. It was just badly calculated. He shouldn’t have done that.



“And then he got all riled up, and speed limit as well.”



Villeneuve even went as far as to suggest Formula 1 may not be the right place for the rookie.



“Maybe F1 is just too much for him,” he bluntly stated.



Debate Over Age and Experience



Some questioned whether the criticism was too severe, given Antonelli only recently turned 19.



But Villeneuve dismissed that line of defense by pointing to past champions who entered the sport at similar ages.



“He’s in Formula 1. What age was Max when he arrived in F1? What age was Lewis when he arrived? Exactly. So that’s not a good excuse,” he argued.



The Canadian went further, criticizing the execution of the move itself.



“Look how far behind he was before the corner. He was two car lengths behind. On which planet did he think it would stick, that it would work out,” Villeneuve said.



“Everyone knows that when you go down to the inside like this, that track doesn’t work. So you really need to be next to the other driver. Like Max. He was right up the gear [of Norris], on the outside, and barely made it stick.



“So it was just poor, poor calculation from his [Antonelli’s] part and he should be better than that in F1.”



Naomi Schiff Defends Antonelli



Villeneuve’s Sky F1 colleague Naomi Schiff offered a more sympathetic view, highlighting that many great drivers also struggled in their teenage years.



“I think, to his defence a little bit on the age thing, I think if we look back at Max, when he was 16,17, 18, when he came into F1, how many big mistakes he was making,” Schiff said.



“I mean, he was always pushing things a little bit over the limits.



“And the good thing is, he [Antonelli] is pushing things over the limit. They’re not having to get him to there, so now they’ve just got to rein him in, because he’s got it. He just needs to not miscalculate so many things.”



Villeneuve, however, was quick to challenge that defense.



“Hold on. I’ll add something to that. Max was driving over the limit, but he wasn’t four-tenths off. He was on pace,” he responded.



Future Under Scrutiny



Antonelli’s mistakes in Zandvoort have placed him firmly in the spotlight, with questions now hanging over whether he can handle the demands of driving for a top team like Mercedes.



While rookies are often granted time to grow into the sport, Villeneuve’s criticism underscores the intense expectations placed on young drivers in modern Formula 1.



For Antonelli, the challenge will be to show he can learn from these setbacks quickly, as further errors could lead to mounting pressure both from within his team and from the wider paddock.
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