Villeneuve blasts McLaren ‘weakness’ in ‘really, really odd’ Imola calls

Jacques Villeneuve has criticized McLaren's strategic decisions at Imola, labeling them as "weakness" and expressing that the team seemed "afraid" to assert team orders in favour of Oscar Piastri after the restart.

Piastri, who started on pole, found himself trailing Max Verstappen early on. Verstappen pitted on Lap 13, gaining an advantage with a cheap stop under a Virtual Safety Car while Piastri also pitted, falling to P4. Despite being 30 seconds behind Verstappen, the gap closed when Kimi Antonelli's stop on Lap 46 brought out the Safety Car.

Verstappen and Lando Norris pitted during the Safety Car period. Piastri, not having suitable tyres available, stayed out and initially moved ahead of Norris. However, on the restart, Norris reported Piastri's tyres were significantly degraded and suggested a strategic move to challenge for the lead.

McLaren opted against issuing team orders. Villeneuve argued this lack of assertiveness cost them a genuine chance at victory.

"They show weakness basically," Villeneuve stated on Sky F1. "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, which is really, really odd."

He added that Piastri's initial mistake at the first corner and subsequent pace issues, compared to Norris, were concerning. Villeneuve questioned why McLaren didn't allow Norris a shot at Verstappen, especially given Verstappen's championship standing.

"Because Verstappen is in the championship (battle). You don’t want to give Verstappen wins, that’s more points for him in the Drivers’ Championship,” he reasoned.

While Piastri leads Norris in the Drivers' Championship, Verstappen has closed the gap to just 22 points after his win at Imola. Villeneuve concluded that McLaren appeared content with securing second and third places, rather than aggressively pursuing victory.

"They (McLaren) seem to be happy with second and third," Villeneuve commented. "McLaren has a car where a good weekend means first and second, anything less will be disappointing. First and third is fairly acceptable, but they seem happy with second and third."