Manor 'not worthy of F1'

Villeneuve says Manor Marussia should be a GP2 team

(GMM) Jacques Villeneuve has joined Bernie Ecclestone in admitting his opposition to the Manor team.

In Bahrain last week, when asked if he is happy the former Marussia team resurrected itself over the winter, F1 supremo Ecclestone admitted: "Not particularly."

Now Villeneuve, the world champion of 1997, has admitted he also doubts Manor belongs at the pinnacle of motor sport.

"No, of course not," he told the Spanish sports daily AS, "when their car is five seconds off the pace.

"This team is not worthy of F1. It is better for them to be in GP2 or the (Formula Renault 3.5) world series and maybe they could even do well.

"This is an expensive sport and you have to be competitive."

Villeneuve admitted F1 is facing issues with regards to spiraling costs, but he warned that the sport should not go too far to accommodate the stragglers.

"Formula one is an aspirational sport that everyone would like to be in," he explained. "The teams should go testing again, let them spend as they did before — the engines should be really powerful and fast.

"That's the appeal. It's like if Rolex watches were suddenly cheaper, they wouldn't have the same value either."