Villeneuve: Norris and Piastri don't react super well under pressure

Villeneuve says the team’s “Papaya Rules” and corporate tone have cost them the ruthless edge needed to close the deal. Suggesting that Norris and Piastri do not react well when the pressure intensifies on both of them.

The 1997 Formula 1 World Champion said the atmosphere inside McLaren might be too friendly for a championship battle: “It says something about this Papaya rule, and we all love each other, and we are all chummy chummy! You can’t be. You are fighting for a world championship. You either want it, or you don't.”

He believes the pressure has unsettled both drivers: “They’re both under pressure actually and neither has reacted super well to pressure. Piastri has got quite a decent lead, but as we’ve seen in the last two races, Baku and Singapore, the pressure has really got to him for some reason.

"But Lando did not profit from it as much as he could and should have. He didn’t make the most of the situation. The problem is that Verstappen is getting closer and closer, and Verstappen is the one that you don’t want bearing down on you.”

Villeneuve rejects any notion that McLaren favour Norris but says the Briton faces greater mental strain: “Everybody saw last year that they did not favour Lando. I don't think there’s an issue there. The pressure is more on Lando really, because if Verstappen gets in the fight, at some point the team might have to decide, ‘Hey listen, we need the drivers’ championship and right now it’s the one who’s ahead that would get the preferential treatment.’ That is Piastri.”

The Canadian added that Piastri’s manager Mark Webber knows what’s at stake: “Mark has been in that situation, and he knows that politics are very important at this point. He knows it only takes five seconds, one move, one overtaking, one decision, for things to go wrong. When there was tension between Vettel and Webber, everybody was upset with Vettel for a few seconds, but ultimately, things moved on, and he ended up champion. Mark knows that.”

Villeneuve feels the papaya team are missing the spark of true champions: “McLaren seem to be lacking magic and artistry, that special thing that you get from champion teams and champion drivers. When you look at the real champions through history, there was always that kind of little magic about them, something that stood out that we’re not seeing right now at McLaren."

JV continued: "That allowed them to start the season as the best team. Now they’ve allowed the opposition to get closer to them when they shouldn’t have done. Max should not be in the fight, but he is. That’s what’s wrong. He’s putting pressure on them just by being Max! And he’s actually having fun doing it! That is the best way to exert pressure because the two leaders can see that he’s not even breaking sweat over it.”

Villeneuve noted that Norris has hardened mentally since mid-season: “I have the impression that since Montreal, he’s a little bit tougher and he stopped blaming himself every five seconds, which is good. He’s internalising things a little bit more. He’s probably still doing it, but in a way that we don’t see, which is better.”

As for Piastri, Villeneuve offered simple advice: “My advice to Oscar would be to drive the same way he was when he wasn’t leading the championship. That’s it. But that’s an easy thing to say. It’s really hard to control your mindset; really hard."

While it is most likely it will be the name of Piastri or Norris on the WDC trophy, but with six rounds to go it is foolish to rule out Verstappen gate-crashing their party. He grooves on that!

Villeneuve continued: "It’s easy to be aggressive when you have nothing to lose. It’s much harder when you can actually lose the championship. And now Oscar is in a position where maybe he could lose it. And Lando is in a position where maybe he could win it.”

Looking ahead to the Circuit of the Americas, Villeneuve expects Red Bull to be a strong challenger again: “The Red Bull should be quick on that track. Definitely. So it should be a good battle with McLaren. What Max needs is that someone else gets in the mix like a George to take points away from the McLarens.

"When we started in March, people thought it might be a boring season just between the two teammates. But it’s panning out to be quite an exciting finish. You have to let things unfold. You can’t overreact too quickly too early in the season. Things have a way of settling down the way they should," reckoned Villenueve.