In the hours before Michael Schumacher’s last Grand Prix, his harshest critic - 1997 title rival Jacques Villeneuve - has issued one final verdict on the record holding seven-time champion.

35-year-old Villeneuve, who was forced out of the BMW team earlier in the year and called time on his own Formula One career, said he did not doubt either the success or the dedication of the Ferrari veteran.

Villeneuve reckons Schumacher often drove ‘inconsiderately’, ‘unfairly’, and ‘made his own rules’.

To the Welt newspaper, the French Canadian also insisted: “I don’t believe that you can judge the greatness or the quality of a sportsman by his achievements alone.”

Villeneuve, the victim of Schumacher’s notorious move at Jerez in 1997, said he was disturbed by Schumacher’s insistence that he be a perpetual ‘number one’ within his team.

“And I’m not only referring to the equipment he and his team-mates receive. I’m talking about the psychological support, the way the drivers are treated by the team,” he said.

He said he wouldn’t have accepted the job as Schumacher’s number two.

“I accept that Michael did not want me,” Villeneuve insisted, “but I would never have slipped into the role of an Eddie Irvine or a Barrichello or a Massa.”

[GMM]

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