Will McLaren's "weakness" cost them the F1 Drivers title again?

Tuesday, 20 May 2025 at 07:30

Jacques Villeneuve criticised McLaren’s decision-making during the 2025 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, arguing the team squandered a real shot at victory by prioritising team harmony over championship ambition, which could cost them dearly come the end of the season.

After a mid-race Safety Car bunched up the field, Oscar Piastri emerged ahead of teammate Lando Norris, despite the latter having superior pace on fresher tyres. Rather than swapping positions to give Norris a chance to challenge Max Verstappen for the win, McLaren allowed the duo to race.

Norris eventually passed Piastri, but by then Verstappen had rebuilt his advantage and showed he is going to take the fight to the pace setters at every opportunity, as he flies solo amid Red Bull’s second driver crisis.

Villeneuve said on Sky F1: “They show weakness. They don't show the strength that Red Bull are always showing year after year. It's as if they're afraid to be aggressive in trying to win the drivers' championship and they're afraid to go against Piastri. It's really, really odd.”

Villeneuve: Piastri messed up that first corner

The 1997 World Champion was also critical of Piastri’s performance off the start: “Piastri messed up that first corner. He got caught out sleeping. He should never have come out of the corner second, and then he didn't have the pace, which was odd. Norris had more pace.”

Villeneuve believes McLaren missed a clear opportunity to take the fight to Verstappen for the win: “On the restart, McLaren knew that it was a matter of laps before Norris would have taken Piastri with the tyre difference, it was obvious.

“100 percent sure he would get ahead, so why make him lose three laps instead of giving him a shot at Verstappen? Because Max is in for the championship. You don't want to give him wins. That's more points for him in the F1 drivers' championship,” warned Villeneuve.

McLaren left Imola with second and third, Piastri finishing ahead of Norris on track due to a post-race penalty for track limits. But Villeneuve argued that such results should not satisfy a team with a car capable of winning.

“They seem to be happy with second and third,” Villeneuve said. “McLaren has a car where a good weekend means first and second. Anything less is a bit disappointing. First and third is fairly acceptable, but they seem happy with second and third.”

Horner: They’ve got two drivers fighting for the title

Norris: I think we handled [team orders] well

While McLaren, with their two drivers battling what is essentially a Red Bull one-car team, are looking sure to claim a second F1 Constructors' title in a row, the Drivers' title will not be a cakewalk. Their nemesis Verstappen will fight to the end to deny them and claim his fifth F1 Champion crown in a row.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner alluded to that in his remarks after the race at Imola on Sunday: “I think today we had the pace to cover whatever they could throw at us. Obviously, they’ve got two drivers who are fighting for a world championship.

“At some point, self-interest will always outweigh team interest. So they did a good job of not making contact. It was commendable that they were allowed to race, but you could see how close it got,” Horner added.

If McLaren do not get the execution of their Grand Prix weekends spot on, plus ditch the race day uncertainty that haunts their pit wall, they will not be adding to the last F1 Drivers' title they won when Lewis Hamilton did the business for them 16 years ago.