Villeneuve: 'Perez didn't get worse, Verstappen had to step up'

Villeneuve: 'Verstappen driving again like 2021'

Villeneuve saw the current Formula One season take a surprising turn. "Red Bull have lost their leading position, and the best two teams now are McLaren and Mercedes. Max Verstappen is still making a difference and winning, but it’s becoming harder and harder as the season goes on," Villeneuve told Instantcasino.com.

The 1997 world champion can imagine it being quite exhausting for Verstappen, as it was in his title fight with Lewis Hamilton in 2021. "Emotions can suck your energy dry, it’s not a great feeling. Max Verstappen feels it too, but he’s able to replenish that energy to win a race week after week. Every race weekend in 2021 was taxing for him, the next two years were a lot more relaxed but this year he has had to work very hard to perform. That amount of effort can be taxing and tire you out," he continued.

On the criticism of Perez for his disappointing performance lately, the 53-year-old Canadian comments. "There is a lack of judgment of the Sergio Perez situation. I don’t think Perez is worse than he was two years ago, but Max Verstappen has had to step up so the gap between the two has increased. Perez is finding it much harder to drive this car, and so is Verstappen, but we’re seeing the Verstappen who won his first championship this season," Villeneuve said.

This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy