Jacques Villeneuve was blunt: “Kimi Antonelli ruined his reputation.”

1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve harshly criticized George Russell after Andrea Kimi Antonelli won the world title. The British Mercedes driver not only lost his home race to the Bolognese driver but has now also lost his second-place position in the world standings, which is now held by Max Verstappen.

“He thought he was the future world champion after beating Lewis Hamilton twice, but instead he lost the championship to his teammate in brutal fashion,” Villeneuve told F1TV. “He arrived at Mercedes, beating Lewis, destined to become the team’s future world champion. That’s how it all started, and then he was outclassed by his young teammate.”

“He realized he was no longer the team’s favorite. Antonelli is Toto Wolff’s project. He’s been sidelined a bit, and his reputation in the paddock has plummeted. He knows he has to fight back, so his frustration is coming out. The next few races won’t matter; what matters is next year. Unless he’s clearly ahead of his teammate next year and is the one fighting for the championship, it’ll be tough for him.”

Now Russell is about to see his chance at the runner-up spot in the world championship slip away as well: “It would be embarrassing. When you see how many points his teammate has, both cars should be in first and second place—period. That’s the kind of season Mercedes has had.”