The Canadian also wondered if F1 was becoming too much of a “Hollywood show”.
TV specialist Villeneuve, who was embroiled in a messy 1997 World Championship battle with Michael Schumacher, questioned many of the events that unfolded during the controversial Jeddah night race.
“It wasn’t F1, it was rental karting,” he told Autosport. “Everything was not right. So I don’t know what to say.
“And it’s hard to stay neutral, it’s hard to comment on what has happened each time and to be seen as neutral. You will always be seen as taking sides, and this is where it gets a bit too much.
“Do we want sport and good F1? Or do we just want a Hollywood show? If you want a Hollywood show, today was amazing. But is that F1? I don’t know. I mean, I think today Frank [Williams] would have turned in his grave when he saw this race.
“And then when you see the team leaders, everyone is screaming, and even putting pressure on the marshals and so on, it gets ridiculous. It really got ridiculous.
“It was great for the fans. So it will probably increase the number of viewers. Which is great for F1. But we’re starting to move away from sport, that’s all. So ultimately, it depends if you’re a purist or not.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB16B and Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12, face off in restart
Photo By: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
Villeneuve questioned the tactics of Hamilton and Verstappen.
“Max went and took the lead,” he said of the controversial Turn 1 passing incident. “On the other hand, his front wheels were in front of Lewis’s rear wheels. in the rules it says that if this happens you must give way, which Lewis did not.
“So what rule should you follow at this point? Would Max have cut the corner if Lewis had left enough room or not? That we will never know.
“In the end, yeah, Max cut the corner, he probably wasn’t going to get there anyway. But are you following the rule to the letter, or the intention? This is when it becomes very difficult to remain neutral.
“They play all these little tricks normally. When Lewis does them, he does them in a way that there is always doubt whether he did it on purpose or not. It was the same against [Nico] Rosberg. When Rosberg did it he got caught and it looked dirty.
“When Lewis was doing it, he didn’t do it on purpose, it’s clean. And he’s a master at it and he’s amazing for that, of course.
Regarding the collision that occurred when Verstappen slowed down to let his rival pass Villeneuve, added: “Someone is slowing down in front of you, you are passing. The problem is those stupid DRS lines. And Lewis didn’t want to cross the DRS in front of Max. He knew Max was letting him pass, he just didn’t want Max to have the DRS for the next straight because Max would have caught him, so they both played the idiot there.
“I am amazed at how strong that front wing was. Because it got hit twice and was still there. Wow, that was impressive! But you could tell Max’s frustration with the power of the Mercedes. .
“This weekend Max just wasn’t there. Just with qualifying he should have gotten pole and he lost it. So this weekend Lewis deserved to win anyway.”
Villeneuve also questioned the radio discussion between race director Michael Masi and the Mercedes and Red Bull teams regarding the grid positions for the restart: “An agreement pending? Never heard about that. It is not in the rules. You understand.”
Villeneuve, who was hit by Schumacher in the 1997 Jerez final but stayed on track to win the title, is hoping for a quieter weekend for the Abu Dhabi GP.
“It’s a Red Bull track. But with the engine Lewis has, every track is now a Lewis track. I just hope we have a nice, clean race. And the best wins, and not something like today. hui, not Hollywood, at least not in the last race. We’ve already had our Hollywood hits this year. “
