Is Oscar Piastri's recent dip in performance a genuine slump, or is something else entirely at play? According to 1997 Formula 1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve, the answer might surprise you. He suggests Piastri's struggles could be a symptom of a deeper issue, one that stems from initially competing against a teammate who wasn't performing at his peak. But here's where it gets controversial... Villeneuve believes Piastri's early success might have masked his true potential. Let's delve into this fascinating theory.
Villeneuve proposes that Piastri's recent performance decline isn't necessarily a sign of regression, but rather a consequence of circumstances changing around him. Currently, Piastri is just one point behind his McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, after finishing fifth at the Mexico City Grand Prix. Norris, on the other hand, clinched victory in that race, reclaiming the lead in the drivers' standings for the first time since the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, the fifth round of the season.
Earlier in the season, Piastri seemed to have the upper hand, even outperforming the more seasoned Norris. He secured five wins in eight races, starting from the Chinese Grand Prix. However, the landscape has shifted. As other teams have closed the performance gap with McLaren, who enjoyed a comfortable advantage earlier in the year, Piastri's results haven't been as stellar. Following a retirement at the Dutch Grand Prix (a race won by Norris), Piastri has only managed to finish fourth in Singapore, and then fifth in both the United States and Mexico City Grands Prix.
This shift in performance has led Villeneuve to suggest that Piastri might have been thriving in a specific set of circumstances, and as the pressure has intensified, he hasn't been able to maintain that same level of performance. Meanwhile, Norris, according to Villeneuve, has risen to the occasion. "You see it in every sport," Villeneuve explained on The F1 Show. "You have teams that will have an average season – I’m not talking racing now, in any sport – then you get closer and closer to finals, to the playoffs, and suddenly they’re the best team out there. And why? For what reason? They were average all season, and teams that have been winning every game, they collapse. It happens all the time."
Villeneuve's theory hinges on the idea that Piastri's early success might have been, in part, due to Norris not being at his absolute best. He argues that Piastri may have appeared to be excelling because he was primarily competing against a teammate who wasn't fully comfortable with the car. "We didn’t have an extremely fantastic Lando early in the season, not the Lando we had that last at the end of last year," Villeneuve pointed out. "We kept saying, ‘oh, that’s because Piastri has stepped up, he’s now on Lando’s pace, and even quicker’. But was it actually Piastri stepping up, or Lando that just wasn’t on it?" And this is the part most people miss... Villeneuve suggests that Piastri's perceived advantage might have led to a degree of complacency. "He kept saying he wasn’t very comfortable with the car, and maybe that made Piastri complacent a bit. When all you have to fight is your teammate, maybe you don’t push to that last limit, that last tenth of a second."
According to Villeneuve, the shift occurred around the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. "Suddenly we get Baku and we get Max [Verstappen] that’s winning everything, and Lando stepped up. Lando is driving faster and better than he’s been all season, and Piastri is not stepping up. He was already at his limit." He elaborates by drawing a parallel to his own racing experiences, suggesting that when drivers are pushing the absolute limit, even minor car issues become magnified. "When you have to go that extra two tenths – and Martin [Brundle] will have had the same issues when he was racing – certainly you find problems in the car that did not exist. When you drive within the limit, the car is perfect. It’s easy. You drive, you save your tyres, and suddenly you have to go a couple of tenths faster, you can’t drive the car anymore. Everything is wrong."
Villeneuve further supports his theory by pointing out that McLaren hasn't introduced significant upgrades to their car recently, as they've shifted their focus to the 2026 season. He argues that this lack of development underscores his opinion. The team decided to halt development on their 2025 car early, in anticipation of the significant rule changes coming next season, choosing to allocate resources to that project instead. This decision has allowed rival teams to close the gap, with Max Verstappen leading the charge. But unable to deliver performances as he did earlier in the season, while Norris car, has left Villeneuve to suggest that Piastri is somewhat caught in his own head.
"We have the same car. It hasn’t evolved that much, so there’s no reason for it to be driven differently," Villeneuve asserts. "Same tyres, it’s Pirellis, they don’t change; sometimes they’re softer, sometimes they’re not, the track is warmer and so on, but there isn’t that big of a difference. So it just [needs] your teammate to step up a little bit, and you’re realising, ‘Oh, how do I do that?’ It gets in your head, and you just get slower and slower and slower, and you start inventing setups that don’t exist. You start doubting your way of driving. You look at the data and you say, ‘Oh, my teammate is one point quicker in that corner, I need to drive differently’. That’s when it goes wrong. You have to remember what you were doing that was good, and just step up a little bit."
So, is Villeneuve's theory plausible? Could Piastri's early success have been a mirage, or is there more to the story? Could the pressure of a competitive Norris and the chasing pack be affecting Piastri's mindset? What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below! Could it be that Piastri is simply experiencing the natural ups and downs of a young driver in a highly competitive sport? Or is there something more fundamental at play? Let's discuss!
