Sky Sports F1 announce new pundit in change to Canadian Grand Prix coverage

1997 F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve is set to make a guest appearance as a pundit for Sky Sports F1 at this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix. The race will take place at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, named after his late father, a former Ferrari driver who tragically died in a crash at the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix when Jacques was just 11 years old.

This isn’t Villeneuve’s first time on the Sky broadcast; he previously worked on the 2012 edition of the Canada race. Since retiring from the F1 grid, Villeneuve has become an experienced pundit, having commentated for the Italian version of Sky and Canal+ in France.

He made his F1 debut in 1996 with Williams, finishing second in his first year and winning his only title the following year. After his F1 career ended in 2006, Villeneuve participated in various racing events, including the Indy 500, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Formula E, NASCAR, and the Australian V8 Supercars series.

In addition, he was highly critical of Kevin Magnussen‘s role in a collision with Perez at the Monaco Grand Prix two weeks ago, suggesting that the Haas driver should have been banned.

Villeneuve stated: “The fact is, Magnussen did not get out of the car and say, ‘Oops sorry, I completely messed up.’ Instead, he suggested it should have been the other way. Excuse me? What planet are we living on?

“The utter lack of comprehension on Magnussen’s part befuddles me. We are in F1 here, not Formula 4 where a 15-year-old might not have that understanding yet. And the fact he was not even penalised shows that the system is not neutral. If he had been penalised he would have been banned for one race.”

“They decided not to. Why have the rule in place? It was massive. It was dangerous. It was ridiculous. And he was 17th and 18th or something. He was not even going for the lead. Come on. First lap and you cannot even judge that. It is mad.”