Max Verstappen sitting atop the timing sheets in FP2 at the Mexico City Grand Prix will "eat" Oscar Piastri "all evening", according to Jacques Villeneuve.
The Dutchman went fastest in the second free practice session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, despite sitting out the opening hour of running for Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad.
Piastri, meanwhile, was way down the order in P12, having only been fourth-fastest in FP1, as well. Assessing the McLaren driver's afternoon, Villeneuve branded it a "continuation" of his recent form when speaking on Sky Sports F1.
Reflecting on the day himself, Piastri said: "It was okay. The lap on softs at low fuel was pretty average, so I'm not surprised with the lap time, but yeah, tried a lot of things, worked through and have a look at what worked, what didn't, but overall, I felt reasonable."
"So, see what we can tune up for Saturday and try and make things just a bit more consistent, I think, is the biggest thing."
When asked about his United States Grand Prix, where he finished fifth and saw his lead in the drivers' championship cut to just 14 points over team-mate Lando Norris, Piastri admitted it was a "pretty messy" round.
"Yeah, there was a few things that we identified from Austin," the nine-time grand prix winner said. "Obviously, it was a pretty messy weekend as well.
"I think plenty of things that we found. All small things, but when you put them all together, they add up, so I think we've got a good handle on last week."
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'It gets to your head'
However, Piastri expects things to be "tight" in Mexico, despite Verstappen topping FP2 with relative ease. "It's gonna be tight like always, but I think we've got a good car underneath us," the 24-year-old said.
Whilst Norris has closed in, Verstappen is considered by many to be the most dangerous threat to Piastri's title aspirations.
Since the Dutch Grand Prix, he has wiped 64 points off his advantage. What was once a considerable 104-point deficit is now down to only 40.
To Villeneuve's ears, he is bereft of confidence. After listening to Piastri's post-FP2 remarks, the 1997 F1 drivers' champion commented: "It didn't sound very... we didn't hear a lot of confidence there.
"It's messy. His driving has been messy since Baku, and you can see it.
"And normally that means a tenth, two-tenths, a little mistake here and there, not setting the car right, and it gets to your head.
"And seeing Max again in the front, that's going to eat him all evening."
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