Former F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve thinks Oscar Piastri bubble may have 'burst' after Baku disaster
Updated . First published at
One-time Formula 1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve has labelled a challenging Azerbaijan Grand Prix a "very bad show" for Oscar Piastri and McLaren teammate Lando Norris.
Piastri's struggles began during a marathon qualifying session last weekend, where a crash in Q3 forced him to start from ninth place on the grid.
His weekend culminated in another fateful crash on the opening lap of the feature race.
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The Australian jumped the race start before stalling on the grid, causing him to fall to the back of the pack before the opening corner.
Oscar Piastri fields questions from reporters in the media pen. Jayce Illman via Getty Images
His race ended soon after, when he locked up and went straight into the barriers at turn five. He was the only driver to retire from the grand prix.
Piastri was handed a five-second penalty for the jump start. However, the penalty will not carry over to the next race in Singapore despite not having been served.
Villeneuve saw Piastri's difficulty in Baku as the first signs of championship pressure impacting him, describing his performance as "erratic."
"You could tell that Piastri was on the edge all weekend for some reason," he told sports betting platform OLBG.
"His driving was erratic from Friday onwards; the mistake in qualifying, the mistake on the grid, followed by a mistake right away on the first lap. He wasn't in it.
"It was really odd because he's got quite a big [championship] lead. But we have often said [that] being the hunted, being the prey, is a very difficult pressure to carry. And it's really affected him, this weekend anyway, which is crazy."
Oscar Piastri climbs out of his damaged McLaren after crashing during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Getty
The 1997 champion believes that the lap-once crash may have "burst" Piastri's title "bubble".
"Now, compared to Norris, he didn't lose many points. [But] you just need another weekend like this, and the pressure is on even more," he said.
"We've always perceived Piastri as being this cold, immovable block. But that's not what we saw this weekend.
"Piastri's crash showed that his bubble there was a bit burst."
While Piastri normally maintains a cool head, Villeneuve acknowledged that all drivers are susceptible to off moments throughout the season.
"Everyone can have a moment of doubt like this," he said.
Oscar Piastri watches on after crashing out. Getty
It doesn't matter how strong you are. Even Max [Verstappen] has had some weekends where we're like, 'OK, maybe that one was a little over the top'.
"The curious thing is, it was the two [McLaren] drivers and the team. The whole thing. Not just one aspect.
"There was no sparkle, particularly from Norris, all weekend.
"His mistakes were less costly because he didn't hit the wall, but he should have qualified at least P2. Then he just went a little bit wide, messed up and then had a lacklustre race. It was incredible."
The title fight continues at the Singapore Grand Prix on October 5.
