Racing driver Jacques Villeneuve does not appreciate the cavalier manner used by the Vanwall team to inform him of his absence from the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the famous endurance race that takes place on June 10-11.
As the organization specified in a press release posted on social networks on Thursday, Quebec will be replaced by Frenchman Tristan Vautier. Although he had problems in the World Professional Championship season that began in March, Villeneuve didn’t anticipate the next hit, according to his own words. He appears to be in a very bad mood, as he said he was “extremely disappointed” with the means that had been taken to let him know. He also confirmed that he would abandon the rest of the campaign.
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“So far, I have not received any official communication from the team, which is very surprising, since I still have a contract to participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The timing of this broadcast oddly coincided with my arrival at the hospital for the birth of our daughter who was due on May 26th. He said in a letter published on Wednesday that the team was well aware of this family event, knowing that I could not respond or explain the decision.
“Under the circumstances, I have decided to abstain from the rest of the World Championship season. Instead, I will devote my energies to preparing for an even more successful and rewarding racing year in 2024.”
desertion
After becoming a father for the sixth time on Friday, the 52-year-old was unable to complete his three events on the series. A broken suspension at Sebring, brake problems in Portugal and an accident at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium hurt his case.
“Two reasons explain our decision, we outlined Vanwall’s president, Colin Kolles, to the specialist media ‘AUTOhebdo’ to justify Villeneuve’s withdrawal. The first is that he does not have enough miles in our car, due to various circumstances. The second is that his wife [Giulia Marra] Expecting a baby in a few days. That’s why we decided it was best for him not to drive at Le Mans. We did the tests in Monza [Italie] At the beginning of May and we made this decision after three days of private testing.
