1997 F1 and 1995 CART champion, Jacques Villeneuve launched an astonishing, brutal attack on RB's Daniel Ricciardo whilst on duty for Sky Sports on Friday.
Having already hit out at drivers who are forever changing their helmet designs, Villeneuve, who always sported a variation of his legendary father's livery, was none too impressed that Ricciardo's latest lid shows maple syrup appearing to run down the helmet.
The Canadian subsequently launched into an all-out attack on the RB driver.
"Why is he still in F1," he asked his fellow pundits, including former IndyCar racer Danika Patrick.
"We're hearing the same thing now for the last 4-5 years," he continued, "'we have to make the car better for him', 'poor him'. Sorry... it's been 5 years of that. No. You're in F1!
"Maybe you make that effort for a Lewis Hamilton, who's won multiple championships, you don't make that effort for a driver that can't cut it," added the Canadian, his fellow pundits now in awkward silence.
"If you can't cut it, go home," said Villeneuve. "There's someone else to take your place. That's how it's always been in racing, it's the pinnacle of the sport. There's no reason to keep going and to keep finding excuses."
Making his F1 debut with Hispania in 2011, Ricciardo subsequently joined Toro Rosso before being promoted to Red Bull in 2014. Alongside four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, Ricciardo regularly impressed as he got the upper hand on the German.
However, this left Villeneuve unimpressed.
"You all talk about that first season or first two seasons," said the Canadian. "He was beating a Vettel that was burnt out, that was trying to invent things with the car to go win and just making a mess of his weekends.
"Then he was beating, for half a season, Verstappen when Verstappen was 18 years old... just starting. That was it. He stopped beating anyone after that."
Ricciardo shocked the paddock when he left Red Bull for Renault in 2019, a move that was widely thought to be more about the $20m a year the French team was offering. He was subsequently poached by McLaren, which is effectively when the excuses about his car began.
Dropped after two seasons by the Woking outfit, the popular Australian was left without a seat for 2023 but was eventually recalled by AlphaTauri to replace Nyck de Vries. Unfortunately after just two outings he was injured during qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix.
On his return, though much lauded by the likes of Sky Sports, he was regularly beaten by his teammate Yuki Tsunoda.
This year Tsunoda continues to dominate his Australian teammate, however the Faenza-based outfit is expected to retain both drivers.
His name alone meant that F1 couldn't wait to have Villeneuve on board, and he didn't disappoint. Finishing runner-up to teammate Damon Hill in his first season and winning the title the following year.
However, the Canadian subsequently made the shock decision to join his (friend and manger) Craig Pollock in the British American Racing project, a move that arguably accounted for the best years of his career. There were subsequent stints with Renault, Sauber and BMW before Villeneuve quit F1 in search of pastures new.
While there is no arguing that Ricciardo had talent at the start, over the years he appeared to become distracted by outside (business) interests whilst cultivating his 'cheeky chappie' image.
Indeed, Villeneuve believes that it is his image, as opposed to his talent, that has kept him on the grid.
"I think his image has kept him in F1 more than his actual results," said the Canadian.
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