Villeneuve: My pick is Norris over Piastri for F1 World Champion
F1 NewsFriday, 13 June 2025 at 15:06
Jacques Villeneuve has offered a frank assessment of the current Formula 1 landscape ahead of his home race in Montreal, backing Lando Norris as this year's World Champion despite the odds swninging in favour of his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri.
As Formula 1 sets up tent for his home Canadian Grand Prix this weekend in Montreal, Villeneuve's no-holds-barred punditry is in high demand. Apart from the Norris versus Piastri analysis, he also weighed in on several paddock talking points, including the handling of recent on-track incidents and concerns over Lewis Hamilton's early struggles at Ferrari.
This is what the 1997 Formula 1 World Champion had to say.
Villeneuve believes Lando Norris holds a slight edge over McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri in the race for the 2025 Drivers’ Championship, citing raw speed and a lack of pressure from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen as key factors.
“My pick for the Drivers' Championship would be a little bit more on Lando Norris over Oscar Piastri. Lando still has the speed advantage. There's also no pressure from Max Verstappen getting in the middle of the fight right now,” Villeneuve said.
However, he also praised Piastri’s composure, adding: “Even though I still have the impression that Norris is slightly quicker, Piastri doesn't get sidetracked or emotionally involved or have doubts. He's colder emotionally and that seems to be paying off.”
Russell Should Have Been Penalised in Spain
Reflecting on the contentious incident between Verstappen and Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix, Villeneuve defended the Red Bull driver and argued that it was Russell who should have been penalised.
“There was no premeditation from Max Verstappen. It happened in an instant and he tried to get his position back and made it completely wrong, just made a huge mess of it.
“That made it look worse and right away people were saying he did it on purpose, he was wanting to take him out.
“The funny thing is Russell deserved a penalty. He hit Max on the rear wheel into Turn 1 which, by the rules, means forcing a collision and forcing another driver off the track. So why didn’t he get a penalty for that? If you have a set of rules, you have to apply them all the time and to everyone. Russell deserved a penalty.”
Verstappen Under Pressure to Adjust Approach
However, Villeneuve suggested Verstappen will need to adapt his driving style under the threat of a race ban, arguing the current penalty points system may unfairly impact drivers.
“I'm not sure when he can recover some points. It will change the way he approaches a race. It has to, because you don't drive with the same freedom if you're going to get a race ban.
“It's an odd system. You can be mean and aggressive until you get too many points! So, I don't know if I like the system, but it will put him under pressure—and normally he's okay with pressure, so that shouldn't be an issue.”
He also warned that Verstappen’s current car deficit could force him into costly mistakes: “He's lost a lot of points with that penalty, finishing 10th, so that's like a DNF—it’s only one point. And he knows that he doesn't have the best car.
"To get the results, he has to overdrive or be on the edge much more than the other drivers. At some point that turns into mistakes or misjudgements, and it makes his championship fight a lot more difficult," reckoned Villeneuve.
Hamilton “Doubting Himself” at Ferrari
Turning to Lewis Hamilton’s form, Villeneuve said the seven-time World Champion appeared to be lacking confidence during his debut season at Ferrari: “It’s not a happy place for Lewis Hamilton. Spain was hard to watch.
“It's hard to understand because he has shown the speed, he's qualified, but it's not consistent. And it seems that he's doubting himself. Even when he speaks, he doesn't seem full of energy.
“That's hard to see from a champion like Lewis. It's not an easy place to be in. It's a team where you get so much attention that when you don't win, the weight of it is tenfold.”
Villeneuve added that Ferrari must take greater responsibility for its performance: “Ferrari has to focus on getting better, because right now it's not good enough. And then if the two drivers don't work the same way, that makes it a little bit more difficult.
“We hear every race that things are going to get better! So, I have stopped listening to all that's supposed to be coming to a track. It rarely pans out. It's been years of this, years and years of this situation, and they haven't figured it out yet. So, I don't think the answer is in what is already there.”
Lack of Clarity on Stroll Injury
On the subject of Lance Stroll’s withdrawal from the Spanish Grand Prix, Villeneuve said it was unclear what exactly happened, noting that the driver’s position within the Aston Martin team shields him from external pressure.
“I didn't see the incident, so it's hard to comment. But where’s the pressure? Why should he care? It's not like his seat is in jeopardy. His father owns the team. But at some point you get frustrated with the team’s current lack of form.
“There might have been other things that we're not aware of that have nothing to do with the lap time. That's very easy to judge. We don't know what's going on.
“Lance got a hand injury which meant he couldn’t race in Spain. He broke both wrists a couple of years ago. It sounded like he’s damaged a hand again. But we don't know. Nobody has the true stories.”
Villeneuve Critical of Canadian GP Organisation
Looking ahead to this weekend’s race, Villeneuve expressed disappointment at how the Canadian Grand Prix was handled last year: “It's a nice Grand Prix to work at because it's not far from town, there's a good energy. The race is fun to commentate on normally. So, when you're not inside the race car, it's quite fun!
"I wouldn't say it’s my favourite. The organisation last year was mentioned—it was awful. It was embarrassing. Montreal on the Monday after the race felt like a ghost town. Abandoned. It was horrible. It hurts to see it in such a state.”
He also questioned the decision to run the event on the same weekend as the Indianapolis 500. That's not a good thing, because when Monaco was clashing with Indy, at least the TV timings were completely different in different continents.
"They will run on top of each other, so that's not the best move for Indy. But that's just the way it is. F1 looks after itself first and foremost. F1 is doing great. I don't think having it the same weekend as the Indy 500 will damage F1. But it's not good for IndyCar.”
(Jacques Villeneuve Interview Source: BetVictor Casino)
Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri for 2025 F1 World Champion?
2025 F1 Points Standings Ahead of Round 10 in Canada
Full Table Here>>>
Latest News
Loading
