Since the Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia, Oscar Piastri had been leading the championship, but after Lando Norris‘s dominant display in Mexico City, he reclaimed the World Championship lead from his teammate. According to Jacques Villeneuve, Piastri’s slump in form is primarily due to Norris’s resurgence, with Baku being the turning point.
Oscar Piastri seemed on his way to his first world title after the Grand Prix of the Netherlands. In Zandvoort, teammate Lando Norris dropped out from P2 due to mechanical problems, increasing Piastri’s lead to 34 points. The roles have now completely reversed. In the five races since, Norris has been on the podium four times, including once at the top, while Piastri has not advanced beyond third place and even dropped out in Baku. While the Australian had been leading since the Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia on April 20, Norris now has a one-point lead ahead of the Grand Prix of São Paulo.
With four races to go and Max Verstappen only 36 points behind the top, it is crucial that Piastri reverses his slump in form. However, Jacques Villeneuve doubts whether the Australian is capable of doing so. “We didn’t see a very great Lando early in the season, at least not the Lando from the end of last year,” Villeneuve says on Sky Sports The F1 Show. “We kept saying this was due to Piastri’s step forward. But did Piastri really take a step forward or was Lando just not feeling it?”
Turning Point
The 1997 Formula 1 World Champion tries to explain the difference in form and mindset between the two teammates. “Norris kept saying he didn’t really feel comfortable in the car. Maybe that made Piastri somewhat complacent,” says Villeneuve. “If you only have to fight against your teammate, you might not push to the limit, that last tenth of a second.”
The turning point for Piastri was the Grand Prix of Azerbaijan. “We arrive in Baku and suddenly Max wins everything. And Lando takes a step: he drives faster and better than he has done all season. But Piastri doesn’t take that step, he was already at the limit. If that’s the case and you have to find two tenths extra, you encounter problems that didn’t exist before,” Villeneuve continues. “That creeps into your head, making you slower and slower. You start to invent settings that don’t exist, you start to doubt your driving style. You see in the data that your teammate is a tenth faster in a corner, so you want to drive differently. That’s when things go wrong.”
