Villeneuve: If Norris is not 2024 F1 Champion it's McLaren's fault

1997 F1 World Champion turned pundit, Villeneuve believes that if Norris doesn’t win this year's title, McLaren will have no one to blame but themselves. Team principal Andrea Stella seems to be prioritizing Norris’s title campaign, but it might be too little, too late.

Providing insights ahead of this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, Villeneuve said: “Max [Verstappen] will still be champion and McLaren the constructors. It will be very close between Max and Norris. Max has changed his approach. He is not trying to win races but just massage the points. That shows maturity.

"The championship is more important than winning individual races. Max knows that McLaren is not making the hard choices they should be, and that will be in his favour. If Lando [Norris] is not champion it will be McLaren’s fault, not his," reckoned Villeneuve.

A crucial 10 points slipped through their fingers at the Italian Grand Prix, a race McLaren should have won but somehow fumbled. Those 10 points could prove decisive when the season reaches its conclusion at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

They missed a golden opportunity for a 1-2 finish, and it raises questions about McLaren's readiness to fight at the top. Oscar Piastri, Norris’s teammate, was not given the clear directive to play the team game a move McLaren team boss Andrea Stella emphasised that their "bias" will no be towards Norris.

Villeneuve continued: “Norris doesn’t have to win in Baku. The season still has eight races and there are a lot of points on the table. It takes one incident or one zero in a race for Max for things to change. McLaren seems to be competitive all the time and Lando is on it all the time, the way Max has been. If he keeps that going, he has a very good chance.”

Beyond the internal dynamics, McLaren must show they are truly ready to take on Red Bull and Verstappen, who have consistently outmaneuvered them. Ferrari’s clever tactics at Monza will sting, reminding McLaren of the winning pedigree they once had during the Ron Dennis era. While they’ve begun winning again under Zak Brown’s leadership, the road to consistent victories at the very top is fraught with challenges.

If Norris and Piastri can strike the right balance between teamwork and individual ambition, the big trophies might be within reach. Otherwise, McLaren risks being remembered as runners-up when the lights go out at Yas Marina Circuit season finale.

At the same time, McLaren cannot take their eyes off the ball for a minute, as they did at Monza, because the margins are such that if teams blink they lose.

Ferrari snatched victory at the 2024 Italian Grand Prix from nowhere which Villeneuve does not discount happening again: “Ferrari could continue with their Monza form. Red Bull will suffer on the track and Norris and the McLarens should be up there. It will be a continuation of Monza.

"The way the season is unfolding is fantastic. It’s not just two drivers or two teams. There are four teams in the mix every race weekend in battle. Before it was a question of who might make life difficult for Red Bull. Now it could be any of the four.

“It is becoming almost impossible to predict and that is what makes it fun and exciting. It allows us to see excellence and drivers and teams come out of their bubble because they have to go that extra mile," added Villeneuve.