Brutal Jacques Villeneuve calls McLaren “pathetic, weird” over team orders furore

Jacques Villenueve has lambasted McLaren over their team orders philosophy claiming “it doesn’t sound like they want to win”.

This weekend’s F1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix will see McLaren introduce a new policy of trying to support Lando Norris’ championship bid by prioritising him above Oscar Piastri.

Previously, they had proudly stated that ‘papaya rules’ dictate they treat both drivers as equals.

Team principal Andrea Stella has explained in Baku: “We are incredibly determined to win, but we want to win in the right way.

"We [will] bias our support to Lando but we want to do it without too much compromise on our principles.”

Villeneuve, the 1997 F1 champion, reacted to Sky Sports: “I guess it starts with ‘papaya’ - that doesn’t sound very tough, does it?

“I don’t want to be demeaning. I am trying to find the right words. But I find it a little bit pathetic…

“This is F1, it’s the pinnacle!

“If I was a McLaren fan, I’d 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.

“Lando got the better of Piastri for the first half of the season, he’s the one with a chance to win. You play it by that rule.

“I really fail to understand this concept of ‘this is how we work, we are happier to finish second than to win…’

“It is weird.”

'Psychologically Lando lost momentum'

Norris is 62 points behind Verstappen in the drivers’ standings.

That deficit might have been closer had Piastri not overtaken Norris at Monza last time out when ‘papaya rules’ were in force.

Karun Chandhok said about the new team orders: “Lando started the season more strongly and bagged points early on.

“I am an Oscar fan, he’s a tremendous talent. He might be their championship contender next year.

“Here and now, they’ve got a chance to win both championships but they need to back Lando.

“I think it’s come late.”

Asked when McLaren should have started prioritising Norris, Villeneuve chimed in: “Hungary!”

Chandhok said: “Midseason. He was 84 points behind Max at that point but you could see the momentum shifting.

“Twelve races, midway point, sorry Oscar you’re now banking the points to support [Lando].

“There are a lot of ‘ifs’ which could have put more points in Lando’s account.”

Villeneuve was asked if Norris is still a serious championship contender.

“Psychologically Lando has lost momentum,” he answered.

“He knows that he has won’t be helped like he should be.

“Even if he’s quicker, there might be a move, like in Monza, where he doesn’t over-defend and he tries to avoid. If it was a different driver, other than his teammate, next to him in that chicane, he would not have gotten out of shape. They might have banged wheels, that’s it. Because it was his teammate, he wasn’t aggressive, and that lost them the 1-2.”

Villeneuve has also been critical of how Norris and Piastri have publicly discussed the team’s new rules.

He claims that the resolution should have been: “They should simply say ‘it’s in the contract, we can’t do anything’.

“That would be better than a 30-minute explanation about values! No, it’s F1, you are there to win.”