Ex-F1 Champion Exposes Oscar Piastri Bubble over Azerbaijan GP Disaster

Former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve declared that Oscar Piastri's bubble burst after the Australian's back-to-back crashes at Azerbaijan GP.

Ex-F1 Champion Exposes Oscar Piastri Bubble over Azerbaijan GP Disaster

Oscar Piastri (via Getty)

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Oscar Piastri had a disastrous weekend at the Azerbaijan GP. The Australian driver crashed out twice in two days, leading to a zero-point outing in Baku. This could have a major impact on the championship leader’s title prospects. Now, former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve has asserted that Piastri’s bubble was burst last race.

The Australian driver has had a solid season so far. Before Baku, Oscar Piastri led Lando Norris by 31 points. However, the two crashes in qualifying and the race were a big disappointment. Thankfully Norris could only score 6 points in the race. Although Max Verstappen won in dominant fashion and now trails behind Piastri by 69 points with 7 races remaining.

Jacques Villeneuve asserted that the crash burst Oscar Piastri’s bubble. Though he questioned whether this would remain a one-off incident. The Canadian pointed out that every driver may face such a low-point in their career, no matter how strong they may be. Villeneuve even claimed that sometimes Max Verstappen also faces tough times.

Piastri’s crash showed that his bubble there was a bit burst. Is it a one-off? Everyone can have a moment of down like this. It doesn’t matter how strong you are. Even Max has had some weekends where we’re like, ‘OK, maybe that one was a little over the top!

Jacques Villeneuve said, as quoted by GPBlog

Jacques Villeneuve lambasts Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris for Azerbaijan GP

The Azerbaijan GP was one of the worst weekends for McLaren. On Saturday, not only did Oscar Piastri crash out of the session, but even Lando Norris didn’t fare much better. The British driver qualified in P7. The race wasn’t that good either. Piastri’s incident aside, Norris could only bring home 6 points, without even coming close to the podium places.

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris (via IMAGO)
Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris (via IMAGO)

Jacques Villeneuve reckoned that the entire weekend from the two McLaren drivers was disappointing. The Canadian driver reckoned that even Lando Norris showed no glimpses of brilliance, with several mistakes. Norris could’ve been on the front row had he not made a mistake in qualifying. Villeneuve asserted that after a poor qualifying, the Briton had an even more lackluster race.

The curious thing is it was the two 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 lackluster race. It was incredible.

Jacques Villeneuve added

Certainly, Jacques Villeneuve is not happy with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. the former F1 champion understands that such performances can ruin their championship campaign. At a time when Max Verstappen is seemingly coming back into the contest, Piastri and Norris must buckle up straightaway to remain in the fight. However, it remains to be seen if the two McLaren drivers can get things back in order at the next round of the season in Singapore.

Read More: Ex-F1 Driver Declares McLaren Fell Apart Against Flawless Max Verstappen at Azerbaijan GP