Jacques Villeneuve blames Oscar Piastri in Lando Norris incident: “That move wasn’t necessary”. Jacques Villeneuve questions Piastri’s role in Norris’s Canada GP crash.

The 1997 World Champion’s view
The Canadian Grand Prix ended under Safety Car conditions due to Lando Norris’s crash in the closing stages of the race, which was won by George Russell. The McLaren driver attempted an overtake on his teammate Oscar Piastri but ended up in the wall. The stewards penalized Norris with a five-second penalty, judging him solely responsible for the incident. The penalty will not carry over to Austria since Norris’s car was classified in the final results, having completed nearly 100% of the race distance.

Over the radio, Lando Norris immediately took responsibility for the crash, and McLaren team principal Andrea Stella stated he appreciated Norris’s transparency. Lando Norris also apologized to Oscar Piastri in the TV interview zone.

However, Jacques Villeneuve believes that while Norris may have been at fault, Oscar Piastri’s actions were also questionable. “It’s easy to point the finger at Norris,” said the 1997 World Champion with Williams on his Instagram account. “He realized too late that Oscar Piastri was moving to the left when his nose was already near the gearbox of the other McLaren. It wasn’t necessary for Piastri to move left; it was a bit of a dirty move. I think there will be discussions inside the McLaren garage.” Looking at the footage, Oscar Piastri takes a diagonal line that leaves no space for Norris at that point, though there are no sudden swerves to the left.

In any case, Jacques Villeneuve would have preferred a red flag for a Melbourne 2023-style finish: “The Race Director could have stopped the race for a thrilling two-lap showdown. Instead, they chose a boring ending—what a shame.” – the former Formula 1 driver concluded.