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Villeneuve slams McLaren for F1 team orders with Lando Norris

Villeneuve slams "pathetic" McLaren and questions if they want to win

13 September at 17:09
  • Matt Gretton
  • Editor-in-Chief

Jacques Villeneuve is growing frustrated by McLaren's actions regarding their team orders (or lack thereof) between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. The 1997 Formula 1 World Champion questioned their motives as the British team closed in on Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing in both World Championships.

The debate has rumbled on in the background ever since Norris was told to let his teammate Piastri overtake him for the victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix. But Piastri's move on Norris in the opening lap of the Italian Grand Prix intensified the debate. The Brit had the chance to take a huge chunk out of Verstappen's lead but only managed to finish third after Piastri forced his way through. Then Norris left the door open for Charles Leclerc while trying to avoid contact with his teammate.

After the Monza race, McLaren hinted that team orders would come into action because they sensed victory in both World Championships. But in Baku, Norris was quick to add an important small print. He does not want the world title handed to him as a gift and so, if Oscar Piastri is the faster of the two and is heading for victory, then he gets to keep that victory. This created ambiguity: Have things been changed, or not?

"It's more that we've just told you (the media and the fans) what you want to hear finally than anything else," Norris told GPblog and others in Monza. The Briton uttered the sentence amid the barrage of questions as if it didn't matter, but in reality, it turned out to be the sentence closest to the truth.

Villeneuve slams McLaren

Villeneuve heard what McLaren had to say, and he simply couldn't understand it. "I find it a little bit pathetic. This is F1. It's the pinnacle. If I was a McLaren fan, I would be upset. Do they really want to win? Do they care? It doesn't sound like they want to win. It's beautiful, but that's not F1. You are here to win. That's all that matters. I really fail to understand this concept. It's weird," he said on Sky Sports.

There is a suggestion that Piastri's manager, Mark Webber, has ensured there's something in the contract that means team orders cannot be applied. Villeneuve also had a sharp response to that. "They should simply say, it's in the contract, we can't do anything. Very simple, then we understand. That would be much better than a 30 minute explanation about the values...no. It's F1. You're here to win," he concluded.