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Some selected quotes from an interview Jacques gave

"Michael isn't a great champion because he's played too many dirty tricks and isn't a great human being," Villeneuve said in a scathing personal attack.

"He's a racer - but a pure racer, nothing but a racer and, because of that, I think the day he hangs up his helmet people will just forget him.

"Senna, by contrast, will never be forgotten. Some of that is the James Dean factor, of course, because he was killed in action at a young age, but not all of it.

"I don't even think Michael will live on in people's memories as strong or as long as [Alain] Prost has - certainly not as strong or as long as [Nigel] Mansell has.

"Those people attained a hero status that Michael never has and never will."

"So, unlike Michael, who ridiculously insisted he was innocent at Monaco this year, Senna said, 'Yes, I did it. But I told you before the race that I was going to do it.'

"That's very different from what Michael did at Monaco and Jerez [in 1997] and Adelaide [in 1994 where he collided controversially with Damon Hill].

"Senna wasn't lying to the fans. Michael was. And the sad thing is that, of course, the fans accept it - they swear black is white, in fact - just so that they can go on respecting the sport they love. And Michael takes advantage of that loyalty."

"He lies not only to fans but to his fellow drivers, too," said Villeneuve.

"At the GPDA meeting at Silverstone he lied to us and he didn't even have the decency to appear embarrassed about it. He just stared in our eyes and lied.

"And we all knew we were being lied to but very few of us bothered to say anything.

"It's quite sad, really - because the reason Michael did what he did is that he thinks he's better than the rest of us.

"He thinks he's bigger than the sport, too, but he isn't. And when he retires, and no-one really remembers him, that will become clear."