F1 digest: Max Verstappen not as good as Daniel Ricciardo says Jacques Villeneuve

Former F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve says Red Bull driver Max Verstappen is not at the same level as teammate Daniel Ricciardo.

Twenty-year-old Verstappen has been involved in a number of incidents so far this season including a crash in practice that forced him out of qualifying and left him starting the Monaco Grand Prix from the back of the grid.

Meanwhile at the other end of the grid Ricciardo dominated practice and qualifying and secured an impressive victory for Red Bull on the streets of Monte Carlo last weekend.

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Villeneuve, who won the F1 championship in 1997, told Sky Italia: “Verstappen makes mistakes in every race. It happens all the time. It’s a bad sign. For example, Ricciardo was not at all to blame for their crash in Baku. He did nothing wrong.

“If a driver is constantly making mistakes, he must calm down and slow down. But to be at Ricciardo’s level, he has to take more risks. It can only mean one thing: Max is not as good as Daniel. Full stop.” (Wheels 24 via Sky Italia)

Kimi keen to stay at Ferrari

Kimi Raikkonen’s contract with Ferrari expires at the end of the season but the Finnish driver hopes to extend his stay with the Italian team.

There has been speculation about Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo or Sauber’s Charles Leclerc being lined up to partner Sebastian Vettel at Ferrari next season.

Raikkonen said: “It’s not me who decides, it depends on what the team want. They know exactly what I want. I wouldn’t be in Formula 1 if I didn’t enjoy this. I don’t have to show anything anymore.” (Sky Sports)

Dirk De Beer steps down at Williams

Williams’s head of aerodynamics Dirk De Beer has stepped down from the F1 team after their poor start to the 2018 season. A reshuffle will see Doug McKiernan “assume responsibility” for the aerodynamic and design direction of the Williams FW41 car and Dave Wheater is named as head of aerodynamics. Williams have only won four points from six races. (Sky Sports)