Jacques Villeneuve shares why Oscar Piastri’s Baku win was better than his maiden F1 victory

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Oscar Piastri has scored more points than any other driver in the sport by a comfortable margin over the last seven races.

He has consistently outperformed teammate Lando Norris and even caught him by surprise on the odd occasion – hence his Italian Grand Prix lap one move which caused some upset.

His Azerbaijan Grand Prix performance was the most complete form we have seen from the Australian, who looks as if he has finally fully got to grips with his McLaren machinery.

It’s a shame it didn’t happen three or four races sooner, or we would very much be considering him as a contender for the world championship headed into the final seven races.

Oscar Piastri’s second win better because he ‘didn’t crack under pressure’

Jacques Villeneuve is a man who knows a lot about having the bottle to claim race victories and world championship in Formula 1.

He claimed the title in his sophomore season back in 1997, and had 11 race victories across his decade-long career.

Speaking about Piastri’s performance on Sky Sports F1, he admitted that it was about as faultless as you could expect.

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“Piastri’s win in Hungary is in the books, but this [Azerbaijan] is the one that he just mastered himself,” he said.

“He did the overtaking, he was quick after, he didn’t crack under pressure. He was perfect.”

Should Piastri play second fiddle to Norris for the rest of 2024?

It’s notoriously impossible to predict the future in Formula 1, so McLaren have little to no idea how long they will have the fastest car for.

A 2025 title challenge would see both Piastri and Norris in the frame without a doubt, and also see their constructors’ pursuit stronger than it has been this year.

So would sacrificing a few points to help Norris win a maiden drivers’ title bear its fruits in the form of payback next season?

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It’s unlikely considering the competitive nature of both drivers at McLaren, but his good relationship with his teammate was witnessed today – when he called upon Norris to hold up Sergio Perez.

That played a big role in him keeping track position and consequently the win over the Mexican, with a very different outcome to proceedings possible if Norris didn’t sacrifice a few seconds of race time for his team’s sake.