Jacques Villeneuve is always great when it comes to honest opinions and amusing quotes, and his views on Fernando Alonso’s decision to race in the Indy 500 this year are no different.
Villeneuve finished second on his Indianapolis debut in 1994 and then won it the following year. Although he thinks Alonso’s chances of winning it are “tiny” he’s full of praise for the Spaniards decision to give it a go. Speaking to news agency Reuters, JV said:
“He will go for it, and that’s what’s great. That’s what makes it exciting. It’s typical gladiators and that’s what built the sport, made it what it is today. So it’s good that there’s someone going back to its roots like this, it’s amazing.”
Wow, Jacques Villeneuve actually in agreement with the majority of people, amazing! Bizarrely some of the people most critical of Alonso’s decision to race in the Indy 500 are his fellow F1 drivers, something Villeneuve said he finds disappointing:
“What I find disappointing is how many (F1) drivers say ‘why bother, it’s only an oval race, it’s dangerous, why would I race there?’ Well, you’re a racer. If you are a pure race fan and are passionate and a racer at heart, you have to be interested in Le Mans and Indy 500 as well as F1. It’s the three main things in racing.”
Villeneuve would know all about that, having tried his hand at pretty much everything throughout his career. Although he won the Indy 500 he never even finished on the podium at Monaco during his F1 career, and had a best finish of second at Le Mans in 2008.
His comments don’t end there though – oh no. He went a step further in his criticism of other drivers in an interview with Spanish newspaper AS. After saying that what Alonso is doing shows that he’s “a real driver” went on to slam those who questioned why he was doing it:
“I heard Nico Hulkenberg and Romain Grosjean giving their opinion about what Alonso is doing – Hulkenberg said it’s dangerous, that he wouldn’t do it, that he did Le Mans because it was different. It sounds like excuses.”
And then Villeneuve unleashed one of the most hilarious quotes we’ve heard in a long time:
“I think there are two classes of drivers. You’re either an Alonso or you’re a Rosberg. And Hulkenberg is a Rosberg.”
Oh snap!
