Villeneuve says Formula 1 race stewards should more lenient

The Canadian says he did not think Lewis Hamilton was at fault during the Monaco Grand Prix, where the Briton was given a penalty for a clash with Felipe Massa.

And Villeneuve reckons drivers who hurt their own chances due to being too aggressive - like Hamilton in his crash with Pastor Maldonado in Monte Carlo - should not be punished more.

"Everybody blamed Hamilton at Monaco for the Massa thing when it was Massa who was at fault," said Villeneuve during an event in which Williams announced its new partnership with Renault.

"That's why aggressive driving, mistakes should not be punished, his move on Maldonado was bad but it was not on purpose. It was just stupid and it was a mistake.

"Luckily he didn't break his car and Maldonado crashed. Too bad, that's racing, next time it will happen to him, you shouldn't be penalised for that.

"That's racing, too bad, you have to let the drivers race. What you don't want is people putting other people in the wall on purpose, or being just stupid. That's what you have to avoid and that's what you should get penalised on."

The 1997 world champion said he did not expect the FIA to ask him to be a race steward, although he admitted he would enjoy the position.

"Sure, why not? But I would probably disagree with what most people are saying so I don't think I will be invited to do that."