Jacques Villeneuve delivers shocking proposal for mirrorless F1 cars

Former Formula 1 driver and 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve has issued a controversial proposal that he believes would make modern F1 racing better: Get rid of wing mirrors!

According to Villeneuve, a lack of these mirrors would force drivers to develop more responsible driving habits, which would naturally improve racing.

Jacques Villeneuve’s shocking proposal: Get rid of mirrors!

Formula 1 has finally returned after its mandatory summer shutdown, and the circus is preparing to revitalize its championship showdown at Zandvoort for the penultimate Dutch Grand Prix in the modern era.

There’s much to discuss as we head into the final 10 races of the season. Will it be Oscar Piastri or Lando Norris taking the World Championship? Can Lewis Hamilton revive his dismal debut at Ferrari? Can Red Bull Racing make a major turnaround?

But one talking point on Sky Sports F1 centered around the use of wing mirrors, particularly as it pertained to a Verstappen vs. Hamilton move at the Hungarian Grand Prix that was referred to the stewards after the race but that ultimately failed to result in a penalty for either driver.

It was during this discussion that former F1 driver turned pundit Jacques Villeneuve made a bold proposition: Get rid of wing mirrors, and those kinds of moves simply won’t happen!

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Villeneuve’s argument comes down to responsibility. In the past, drivers could see very little in their mirrors, which forced them to drive with care. Now, that’s not the case.

“The difference is, mirrors weren’t used to block other drivers,” Villeneuve explained on Sky Sports F1. “They were just used to avoid when you’re in traffic.

“Now, the drivers use them only to block.”

Villeneuve’s solution to the problem? It’s simple.

“So we should remove the mirrors,” he concluded.

“You’d have better racing. If you overtake someone and you know he has not seen you, you won’t put yourself in a situation where you’ll be run off the track. And the driver in front won’t run you off the track on purpose, either, or block you.

“It would end up being safer.”

He did, however, point out one downside: “It would be worse when you came out of the pits.”

Villeneuve continued, “When you drive, a lot of drivers, you see them overtaking and just putting their front wheels at the rear wheels [and] think, ‘OK, he’s seen me; he will let me in.’

“If he didn’t think the driver had seen him, he would never put his wheels in the wrong position.”

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time Villeneuve has made this bold, anti-mirror proposition! And his argument has remained the same for over two decades.

Back in 2003, when he was driving for BAR, Villeneuve told Autosport in August of that year, “If you don’t have mirrors, you cannot block.

“If you’re following someone and he doesn’t have mirrors, you know he hasn’t seen you, so you know he will turn into the corner.

“In a race situation, it would be 10 times safer without mirrors. You just mind your own business, like the motorbike guys.”

In fact, Villeneuve told Autosport that he had raised the idea of banning wing mirrors during that time period, but his proposal was turned down as “everybody just laughs, of course.”

Now in 2025, the Canadian champion advocated not only for removing mirrors, but for getting rid of radio and telemetry — and in his eyes, there’s only one driver who could thrive with those restrictions: Max Verstappen.

Drivers, Villeneuve argued, should “just work and discuss with the engineer and go by feel.

“And one driver that would stand out would be Max, because he’s still working this way.”

Despite his commitment to the belief that Formula 1 racing would be better without mirrors, it’s quite unlikely that the FIA will consider it a legitimate suggestion for improving the sport.

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