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Williams has reportedly banned 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve from its motorhome after the Canadian has been very vocal about compatriot Lance Stroll. Stroll, who had a difficult start to his Formula 1 career, was branded as the "worst rookie in the history of F1" by Villeneuve.
Stroll hit back at the comments, stating that Villeneuve never has anything positive to say. Villeneuve attends all races with Sky Italia, who he works for as a commentator. Now, Williams has apparently put a restraining order on its former champion because of his comments.
"With regard to Jacques, he's obviously been pretty vocal in the media," said deputy team boss Claire Williams. "I don't want to go into a huge amount of detail about it. The way that Lance describes it, he just wants to get on and let his track performance do the talking.
"I think that's what we should do because that's when the critics will stop -- when Lance proves he deserves to be in Formula 1, which we all at Williams believe anyway," she insisted. "He has shown to have a strong character and personality, even under pressure."
At the Canadian Grand Prix, Stroll claimed his first points finish before a sensational drive in Azerbaijan saw him come away with his maiden podium. Williams stated that his progress is clear and that he is a superstar of the future.
"He has been interrogated more than most rookies are but always remained focused and has constantly improved. After the first six races, he was criticised a lot, but I always responded by recalling the debuts of Vettel, Ricciardo and Raikkonen. Honestly I didn't expect him to get on the podium this year, but now that it's happened, we can say that we have a superstar of the future with us."
Fergal Walsh
Grand Prix of Belgium
G. Zhou
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mbmwe36
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This headline made me chuckle for some reason.
Even though I have been (and still am) critical of Stroll, I'd say JV has been embarrassing with his constant, and very harsh critique of Stroll, and by proxy of Williams. I applaud Williams for taking a stand here actually, and be loyal to Stroll.