Villeneuve on Verstappen, Hamilton and Papaya Rules ahead of Brazil

Heading to Sao Paulo, Lando Norris taking the lead over McLaren team mate Oscar Piastri by a single point, and Verstappen, flying solo at Red Bull, finds himself chomping into their collective lead with a voracious appetite for a fifth Formula 1 world title in a row.

Villeneuve reflected on Mexico, suggesting Red Bull’s struggles were unusual: “Maybe the upgrades made the Red Bull car edgy, but then it was also hard to read because the air density was so low there with the altitude that you don't get the normal downforce. So, things don't work normally, and you have to open up for cooling. Everyone other than Lando and maybe Leclerc had issues with the tyres, with the heat, and just sliding around.”

He noted that Verstappen’s frustration was telling: “That’s the first time we hear Max not being happy with the car. Even on weekends where he starts really badly on a Friday, they work at it and they keep getting better, then they hit it off in qualifying and then they're fine.

"But in Mexico, you could hear, he was saying that they changed the setup just before qualifying and then they went in the wrong direction. That’s the first time they couldn't actually figure something out on the car. In the race he did well, but I think that was more of a salvage than anything else," JV added.

The 1997 F1 World Champion compared Verstappen’s approach to that of McLaren’s drivers: “Actually, it's not McLaren-Red Bull anymore. Max is fighting two drivers. But he doesn’t have any Papaya rules, so it's a little bit different. That's I think what helps him. His rule is a strong rule, ‘Just go for it!’ At worst he'll finish third. Third or second doesn't change his life. The championship does. So, it's worth going for it.”

Villeneuve expects Red Bull’s strength to re-emerge this weekend: “There’s a sprint race as well, which means that they don't have time to get ready, to set up normally. Red Bull and Max are quite good at that. But seeing the pace of the McLaren with Lando in the zone, that's a tough one. And Lando is no slouch in the wet.”

Villeneuve also praised the impact of Lewis Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari: “Lewis has had the pace the last few races. He seems to have been working more on the team and Leclerc has been complaining more. It feels that Lewis has been focusing on making sure he has the right people and the right team around him.

"Next year he's been trying to change the way of working as well. And it seems that it's probably helping the whole team and indirectly it's also helping Leclerc perform. So, he's been a very good addition in that respect but it's also serving his teammate. That might be the issue for him.”

Villeneuve expects the Drivers’ Championship to go down to the wire: “Yes, it will be a showdown in Abu Dhabi, because I don't see one driver out of the three just jumping ahead. There will always be the one weekend where it rebalances a little bit.

"Right now Max got a little bit closer to the championship, but now he knows that beating Norris means Norris will probably finish second. Then we're getting to tracks that can be chaotic. Brazil? It can rain, it's chaotic so anything can happen. Vegas? It's also a chaotic track. We have two races now that aren't normal.”

Reflecting on the season overall, Villeneuve added: “This year we've had so many surprises. Max was quick in Singapore, and that's never been a good track for them. And tracks sometimes where McLaren should be dominating, they haven’t.

"They are so close, all of them, that if you're just slightly off, suddenly, you're not special anymore. It was never like that in the previous years. There was always more difference, more gaps. And we weren't expecting Ferrari to be in the mix in the last few races. Look how they have bounced back. There are always surprises now.”

He also praised the progress of the midfield teams: “You also have midfield cars running at the front. You have got the Sauber, got the Williams at the front, which is much better than expected. They are two teams that didn't really spend any time on developing their cars. They're doing amazingly. And that's when it's the best, when you know you will be surprised.”