Outspoken former Formula 1 champion Jacques Villeneuve has belittled the profile of Formula E as its new season gets underway.
Last weekend, the all-electric series begun its fifth campaign in Saudi Arabia with Antonio Felix da Costa holding off champion Jean-Eric Vergne to take the win.
This latest season has also seen the cars take a huge leap forward in terms of battery life and power with a new race format aimed at spicing up the racing.
Even so… “Nobody wants to see electric racing,” Villeneuve told Automobile Magazine and was quoted by GPFans.com.
“The truth is, in the F1 paddock, nobody even knows when the Formula E races are on.
“I don’t understand why they are pushing it so much. I think it’s a niche thing. The die-hard fans are the only ones who really keep up with it.”
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What makes the Canadian’s rebuke particularly interesting is he has previously driven in Formula E, albeit only lasting two rounds with Venturi in Season 2.
“I did a couple of races in Formula E and I was happy to do them because the technology was interesting,” he admitted.
“You have power, you step on the gas – well, I probably shouldn’t say gas – you step on the pedal, and you go somewhere but ultimately… I don’t know.”