Villeneuve: Ocon "an embarrassment" with "zero racecraft"

1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve has weighed in on the Max Verstappen-Esteban Ocon debate after their clash in Brazil, with the Canadian saying Ocon "is an embarrassment" with "zero racecraft".

Ocon ran into Verstappen in an attempt to unlap himself from the race leader in the Senna S but failed, running out of road and clipping the RB14, spinning both cars around. Verstappen lost his lead and eventually lost the race because of the incident, even though he still got close to Lewis Hamilton at the end of the race.

Despite many people now coming out with sympathies for Ocon, Villeneuve is siding with Verstappen.

"Ocon is an embarrassment," Villeneuve told Autosport.

"That was ridiculous. And the worst bit is everyone has seen what happened, and on the radio not even a 'Sorry guys I was wrong.' It's good to accept you're wrong.

"You can unlap yourself, but do it properly, you're not allowed to put the leader at risk at all. You don't do something that loses time for the other driver and is taking a risk.

"Overtaking on the straight and you're in front is fine. But that looked like it was a battle for the lead.

"But also it shows he has no racecraft, zero racecraft whatsoever.

"All the incidents in the last two years where maybe it's his fault, maybe it's not, you can kind of think that maybe he was in the wrong because he hasn't read the race properly. And he never learns because it's never his fault, ever."

After the race, Verstappen went to confront Ocon at the weight scales, pushing the Frenchman several times before storming off. He got two days of public service for that from the FIA, which he has to complete within the next six months. Still, Villeneuve thinks Verstappen did well not to react worse in the situation.

"I thought he was very restrained in his reaction. He didn't even punch him!"

"What do we want to see? We want to emotion, we want to see these gladiators. It was good to see that. And the other one is taller than him anyway!"