Villeneuve happy "ridiculous" moving under braking banned
Former world champion Jacques Villeneuve says he welcomes the decision by Formula 1 chiefs to ban the "ridiculous" moving under braking behaviour that had crept in to the sport.
Following the latest complaints against Max Verstappen after the Japanese Grand Prix, the FIA announced over the Austin weekend that it would no longer tolerate excessive moving under braking.
Any driver now caught doing so, and who causes a rival to take evasive action, will be reported to the stewards for a possible sanction.
Villeneuve thinks the clampdown will be great for improving the racing, as it will once again allow pursuing cars to have confidence that they can dive down the inside without fear of there being a crash.
Speaking to Motorsport.com for his view on the change of regulations, Villeneuve said: “Good. Finally. It was ridiculous.
“It was ridiculous because it stole away battles. Just look at Suzuka, when you had [Valtteri] Bottas and [Nico] Hulkenberg [fighting for position]. Bottas stayed on the inside, left enough room [and we saw a] beautiful battle in between the two. It was good even for us. And it was fair.
“What [Max] Verstappen and [Carlos] Sainz do, they look in the mirror and they block. So there is not even a battle. And it’s very dangerous. It’s just not part of racing.
“But I guess it's part of the new generation of racing. Because that’s how they do in the video games, I guess. I don't know. So it’s good that they finally took a line and I hope that it will work out.”
Villeneuve said he never experienced any rivals adopting such aggressive defensive tactics when he was racing in F1.
“I don't remember anyone doing that. Ever. I never did this,” he said. “And I think if a driver did it to me once, then the next race or the next lap you put him in a wall, and that was it and it never happened again.
“But it was an era when it was dangerous to race. So there was more respect among drivers and you did not do stuff that was extra dangerous, because already just driving on your own there was a big risk of dying.
“So I think that now the cars are so safe they think they can do whatever they want. I think that’s the issue.”
Interview by Erwin Jaeggi
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