McLaren team orders vetoed by Piastri contract protection

Former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve believes Lando Norris' hopes of being prioritised by McLaren this season count for nothing due to the protection now afforded to team-mate Oscar Piastri following the recent signing of a new contract.

Piastri put pen to paper on a fresh deal ahead of his home race in Australia in mid-March to kick-start his season in style, ensuring he and Norris have agreements that run through to later this decade.

Villeneuve is in no doubt that after what unfolded last season when McLaren imposed team orders on Piastri to aid Norris' quest for the drivers' title, that loophole will have been firmly closed when the Australian put pen to paper, barring exceptional circumstances.

“They cannot give Lando priority over Oscar because of the contract. He has a contract that protects him.

“As long as both drivers can win the championship, there won’t be team orders unless there's something significantly big for the constructors’ title or if one of them is having an issue in a race like last year.”

Villeneuve feels it was vital for Norris to finish runner-up to Piastri in the last race in China to ensure he keeps his nose in front in the drivers' standings. 

"All that matters for McLaren is that they have a car right now that is easy to drive for both drivers, which means they can control the championship," said Villeneuve, speaking to CardPlayer.

“Lando always has issues with the front end, he always uses up his front tyres a little bit too much and China is an understeer track that eats up the front tyres. He was always going to have a little bit more trouble on that track.

“Now, because second or first is a big difference in points, it was important for Lando to go get as many points as possible and keep pushing because he knows that Piastri, in the long run, will be a threat to his championship chances and the battle might just be between him and his team-mate.

"That's always the most difficult when your battle is against your team-mate."

Piastri 'a cool cat'

After Norris triumphed in Piastri's backyard in Melbourne, where the latter spun into the grass late on to deny himself the chance of finishing second, Piastri bounced back in China by finishing second in the sprint and taking the chequered flag in the grand prix.

Norris, meanwhile, again criticised himself for making too many errors, in particular in qualifying for the race that put him on the backfoot, but doing enough to salvage second.

“Oscar was better under pressure than Lando in China," assessed Villeneuve. 

“Lando was quicker the whole weekend, but whenever it counted, he made mistakes in qualifying that put him behind and then because of that, he couldn't race as well.

“Piastri was more of a cool cat. He maximised his weekend. He had a good qualifying, a good start and then as we saw, he did a good job in the lead. Lando was quick but he was behind, and he overheated his brakes.

“Sometimes you don't need to be the quickest, you just need to have a better weekend and not make mistakes and perform better under pressure.”