Daniel Ricciardo issued a fiery response to Jacques Villeneuve's scathing criticism after qualifying in fifth place at the Canadian Grand Prix. The VCARB driver produced his best qualifying display of the season and was just 0.178 seconds adrift of the time set by pole-sitter George Russell.

Villeneuve did not hold back in his criticism of Ricciardo on Friday, questioning why the Aussie is still in F1 after years of underachievement. He also suggested there have been too many 'excuses', adding: "If you can’t cut it, go home, there’s someone else to take your place.

"That’s how it’s always been in racing, it’s the pinnacle of the sport. There’s no reason to keep going and to keep finding excuses. You all talk about that first season or first two seasons, he was beating a [Sebastian] Vettel that was burnt out, that was trying to invent things with the car to go win and just making a mess of his weekends.

"He was beating [Max] Verstappen for half a season when Verstappen was 18 years old, just starting. That was it. He stopped beating anyone after that. I think his image has kept him in F1 more than his actual results."

Ricciardo was seemingly fired up by the criticism and delivered the perfect response in qualifying before firing back at Villeneuve after the session.

Asked if he was aware of Villeneuve's comments, Ricciardo said: "I’ve just been told. I don’t listen or read, but there’s definitely some people out there who... whatever. I won’t give them the time of day. Top five, I’ve been quick all weekend, less than two tenths from pole. So, eat s***."

It remains to be seen if Ricciardo will be able to convert his impressive qualifying display into a welcome haul of points in Sunday's race. He currently trails VCARB team-mate Yuki Tsunoda by 14 points in the standings and is facing an uncertain future in F1, with his current deal set to expire at the end of the year.

Villeneuve reflected on his criticism of Ricciardo after the session and gave him credit for performing well but insisted that one good qualifying result was not enough to invalidate the points he made on Friday.

"He needs the push, the pressure, and it paid off," said the Canadian. "It’s working well, the car suits him this weekend and when you have a car that suits you, you drive at your best.

“That was one good qualifying. If he can carry on this weekend like this then do four, five, six more races like that, then he’ll be fine. But like he said, he’s been lacking consistency this year."