F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve was trapped in an airport restroom last weekend.

      Song Haiyuan/Getty Images, Instagram

      The long winter is finally winding down, and the global media is heading to Australia for the kickoff of the 2025 Formula 1 season next weekend. Among those arriving is the 1997 drivers’ champion Jacques Villeneuve, who is likely in Melbourne after spending half an hour confined in an airport bathroom stall against his wishes.

      Let’s take a brief look back: On Sunday, the former Williams driver shared a selfie on Instagram from Milano Malpensa Airport. At that point, Villeneuve had already been in the stall for 20 minutes, and to make matters worse, he estimated that the automatic toilet had flushed around 40 times during that period. "Very impressive," he commented. One commenter likened this situation to his initial year with the British American Racing team in 1999, to which the Canadian responded, "The BAR broke down faster. Never got stuck in it for that long."

      It seems security was unable to free Villeneuve, but he didn’t let that stop him. About ten minutes later, he stated that he managed to break down the door with his legs. This action apparently caused a ceiling panel to fall and hit him on the head, but fortunately, he appeared to be uninjured, as he shared the entire incident's aftermath on social media.

      If you’re familiar with Jacques, you know he’s a controversial figure in the F1 community. He’s not shy about expressing his opinions, as shown last year when he criticized former F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo during the Canadian Grand Prix after a series of disappointing performances from the Aussie. "Why is he still in F1?" Villeneuve asked. "We’ve been hearing the same for the last four or five years—we need to improve things for him, poor him. It’s been five years of that. Sorry, no, you’re in F1."

      Ricciardo has numerous supporters, while Villeneuve likely has just as many critics. Dutch racer Tom Coronel inquired during the bathroom incident about who might have locked him in; the Williams ambassador and Sky Sports pundit replied, "Wondering how many enemies I have before the 1st GP."

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