Oscar Piastri threw away the F1 drivers' championship, according to Jacques Villeneuve, who has said the McLaren driver had the momentum at the "wrong time" of the season.
Despite a costly error in his home grand prix, which opened the campaign, the Australian driver enjoyed the impetus in the title fight over the first part of the year, looking more likely than Lando Norris to take a maiden crown, with reigning champion Max Verstappen faltering.
However, after Piastri won in Zandvoort to kick off the second part of the season, opening up a 34-point advantage over his team-mate, who was struck by poor reliability, things started to quickly unravel.
It culminated in the 24-year-old finishing third in the standings, 13 points behind champion Norris and 11 adrift of Verstappen.
Having taken control of the battle after victory at the fifth round, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Piastri eventually relinquished top spot in Mexico City, the 20th weekend of the 24-weekend schedule.
"It’s tough because Oscar led for most of it," Villeneuve said to PokerScout. "He was on the way up, but I guess he was climbing too early in the season. It was the wrong time to have the momentum, I guess."
The 1997 F1 drivers' champion highlighted the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Piastri's lowest ebb in a season full of ups and downs for all three title protagonists.
Affected by the team orders he was on the receiving end of in Monza the round prior, the nine-time grand prix winner suffered through a disastrous weekend, crashing in qualifying, jumping the start and stalling off the line and then finding the wall again to head into retirement from the race on the first lap.
"But Baku was costly," the former Williams, BAR, Renault and Sauber driver added. "I think Baku really affected him.
"In the last two races, he was quick, but it took him a while to get that momentum going again, which is very strange. And at the time when Norris actually stepped on the gas."
The Canadian also underlined the looming jeopardy of the impending regulations reset, pointing out there is no guarantee that Piastri has the opportunity to fight for the championship next year and beyond.
"It’s a long season, and when you lead it for so long, and you have a big advantage in your mind, you think, 'Okay, I’m there, all I need is to not make mistakes'," Villeneuve explained.
"Then you throw it away. It can be frustrating, but he knows he can drive fast, so if the car permits, he’ll get another shot.
"That’s the issue with the regulation changes; no one knows which team will be quick, and it might not be McLaren."
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