F1 Pundit Makes Bold Claim over Oscar Piastri’s Penalty Advantage Against Max Verstappen

Former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve was confident that Oscar Piastri would not be as easily penalized as Max Verstappen this season.

Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen (Via IMAGO)

McLaren star Oscar Piastri is at the peak of his career right now. The Australian driver has dominated the start of the 2025 season with four wins in six rounds. This has made him the favorite for the championship against Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. So much so, that former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve believes that Piastri would have an easier time avoiding penalties as well.

Formula 1 is infamous for its notorious penalties for in-race incidents. Max Verstappen and Lando Norris were handed quite a few penalties during their championship battle last season. At the Saudi Arabian GP, a ten-second penalty for Verstappen took away his chances of victory. However, such situations might appear to be less likely for Piastri.

Jacques Villeneuve insisted that everyone loved Oscar Piastri right now, going as far as calling the 24-year-old the ‘golden child’ of the paddock. The Canadian was confident that even if Piastri triggered an incident, he was much less likely to be handed a penalty by race control than someone like Max Verstappen. This would be beneficial in the title fight if the Australian driver is able to avoid penalties.

Piastri is loved. He’s like the golden child right now. If something happens, he won’t be given penalties as easily as Max Verstappen is, for instance. That’s also a big help in fighting for a championship.
Jacques Villeneuve told Vision4Sport

Villeneuve might be confident that this is the case. However, stewards in Formula 1 do not hand down penalties depending on the driver. Race control is supposed to remain unbiased and only penalize someone when they go against the rules or trigger incidents. The FIA would certainly disagree with the Canadian on this issue.

F1 Pundit Declares ‘Mighty’ Oscar Piastri Has What It Takes to Win 2025 Title

Oscar Piastri on the ‘right side’ of imbalance

Jacques Villeneuve firmly stood by his views over potential bias in penalties. The 54-year-old recalled that during Lewis Hamilton‘s rivalry years with Nico Rosberg, the seven-time world champion would often get away with actions which Rosberg would’ve been penalized for. This had created immense controversy during Mercedes’ peak in F1, as fans were divided over the way race control allegedly managed the situation. However, the stewards stood by the rules.

The Canadian insisted that such an imbalance was natural and luckily for Oscar Piastri, he is on the right side of the imbalance. The Australian driver has gained a massive fan following and support for this season. As fans have grown tired of watching Verstappen dominate Formula 1 in recent years, and want to see a new face take the title this time around. Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri’s teammate Lando Norris has struggled to match the 24-year-old.

It reminds me of when we had Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg fighting for the championship. If they made the same move, Nico would get a penalty. In the following race, if Lewis made the same move, he wouldn’t be penalized. There is this slight unbalance which is human and Piastri is on the right side of the balance.
Jacques Villeneuve added

Certainly, Oscar Piastri is the driver to beat at the moment. The McLaren star has defied all expectations so far and leads the championship. There is still a long way to go before the Australian can be crowned world champion. However, it appears that the 24-year-old is indeed on the right track. Now, Piastri must ensure that he is able to carry this momentum forward for the rest of the season. Though, it is likely that Norris and Verstappen will be looking to bounce back as well.

Tags: Jacques Villeneuve Max Verstappen Oscar Piastri

#About the Author

Armaan Agarwal

(2629 Articles Published)

Armaan Agarwal is a Motorsport Sub-editor and Content Manager at Firstsportz. He has written over 2500 articles with around 1000 edited pieces under his belt. Armaan has years of experience in the field of journalism, having followed Formula 1 and NASCAR for almost a decade. Nico Rosberg's title victory at the 2016 Abu Dhabi GP against Lewis Hamilton remains engraved in his memory. He started his journey with his own motorsport blog in 2017. At Firstsportz, Armaan provides deep insight into the sport for fans through his special editorial pieces. Armaan has several other skills, including social media content creation, script writing, and debating. He completed his Bachelors of Arts in Mass Communication with a gold medal from St. Xavier’s University Kolkata. Presently, he is pursuing his Post Graduation in Broadcast Journalism at the India Today Media Institute with a keen eye at the ever-evolving dynamics of a newsroom. Apart from motorsport, he is an avid reader and keeps himself up to date with current affairs.

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