Jacques Villeneuve says he is sad but not surprised at what has happened to the Williams team.
Now a pundit for Italian television, the French Canadian is the last driver to have won the world championship for the team founded by Sir Frank Williams.
The same team, now run by Williams’ daughter Claire, is now easily the slowest in the field. After Sochi, Robert Kubica’s sponsor demanded to know why the Pole had to retire a healthy car in order to save parts.
"What saddens me is how the team has been managed in recent years," 1997 world champion Villeneuve said at Suzuka.
"But given that management, there is no surprise about where they are. It makes sense.
"I think it’s right in a way that it’s going so badly for them, because with a team with such a name, such a glorious past, to be competitive whilst being managed so badly would be a pity.
"So it’s deserved," Villeneuve added.