Jacques Villeneuve calls out £470m F1 team in Baku for ‘not even trying’ this season

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The Azerbaijan Grand Prix produced some of the most impressive driving for a race lead seen for some time while intense battles were going on up and down the grid.

Oscar Piastri grabbed the headlines with his brilliant overtake on Charles Leclerc before holding off the Monegasque driver expertly to the chequered flag.

Sergio Perez had his best weekend for some time but a late collision with Carlos Sainz prevented both drivers from finishing on the podium, with George Russell taking full advantage in a similar nature to his victory in Austria.

Franco Colapinto lived out his dream of scoring a Formula 1 point for Williams and held off seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in the process.

An opportunistic move by Oliver Bearman saw him steal the final championship point off temporary teammate Nico Hulkenberg during the closing stages and all of that drama makes the race in Baku a modern classic.

Jacques Villeneuve was covering the race for Sky Sports F1 and joined Ted Kravitz on the grid before the Grand Prix began.

They were both assessing all the teams ahead of the race starting and Villeneuve gave his thoughts on his old team Sauber.

The Swiss outfit are the only manufacturer yet to score a point this season and never looked in contention in Azerbaijan.

Villeneuve has suggested that the £470m-valued Sauber aren’t even trying anymore and are simply waiting for Audi to take over in 2026.

Jacques Villeneuve says Sauber are ‘not even trying’ after another disappointing weekend in Baku

Assessing this season’s weakest team, Kravitz said: “I mean the funny thing is about Sauber is that they’re at the back more or less every qualifying and more or less every race, but you look at the times, the grid is so close, it’s only about a second, maybe a second-and-a-half that they’re off pole.

“So, it’s obviously not a bad Formula 1 car, it’s just compared to everybody else it is.”

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber from team principal to Audi future

Villeneuve then added: “They would be happy in the 1990s when the last guys were five seconds off the pace.

“But they’re just surviving until Audi takes over. They don’t seem like they’re pushing much into the car.

“They’re not even trying to be that competitive, so, there’s not much to say there.”

Mattia Binotto has key driver decisions to make ahead of 2025 and beyond

Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu are going to need a miracle to score their first point of the season between now and the finale in Abu Dhabi at this rate which is likely to harm both of their chances of staying on the grid next season.

Nico Hulkenberg has already been recruited from Haas and Bottas appears to be the favourite to join him next year.

However, Mattia Binotto has been seen in conversation with McLaren junior Gabriel Bortoleto.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Sauber and Audi F1 chief Mattia Binotto

Bortoleto took the lead in the Formula 2 Drivers’ Championship in Baku having won the F3 title in his maiden season last year.

The 19-year-old is an exceptional talent and continues to put Bottas under pressure for his place on the grid.

Colapinto and Bearman have proved how good the top F2 drivers are this season and Kimi Antonelli will hope to echo that at Mercedes next year.

Bortoleto is the best of the bunch and the longer he can stay at the top of the championship, the better for his 2025 F1 prospects.