McLaren lambasted with “weakness, afraid, odd” criticism at Emilia-Romagna GP

Jacques Villeneuve was brutal in his criticism of McLaren’s decision-making at the F1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.

Lando Norris finished second, and Oscar Piastri third, behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen at Imola.

Verstappen brilliantly stole the lead from pole-sitter Piastri at Turn 1 on Lap 1 then held on comfortably.

Norris, with fresher tyres, overtook his teammate in the final laps but was never close to Verstappen.

But Villeneuve, the 1997 F1 champion, wasn’t impressed with the decisions made by team principal Andrea Stella and those inside the McLaren garage.

2025 F1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix - Race Result from Round 7

“They show weakness, basically. They don’t show the strength that Red Bull show year after year,” Villeneuve claimed to Sky Sports.

“It’s as if they are afraid to be aggressive and win the drivers’ championship, and they are afraid to go against Oscar Piastri.

“It’s really, really odd.

“Piastri messed up that first corner, he got caught out sleeping. He should never have come out second.

“Then he didn’t have the pace, which was odd. Norris had more pace.”

McLaren questioned: "Happy with second and third?"

Two Safety Car periods interrupted the F1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, which turned from an expected one-stop to a two-stop race.

But Verstappen remained in total control throughout.

Villeneuve criticised: “On the restart, McLaren knew it was a matter of laps until Norris overtook Piastri with the tyre difference. It was obvious.

“So why make him lose three laps instead of giving him a shot at Verstappen? 

“Because Verstappen is in for the championship, you don’t want to give him points!

“They seem to be happy with second and third. McLaren have a car where a good weekend is first and second. Anything less is disappointing. First and third is barely acceptable.

“But they seem happy with second and third…”

Piastri remains the leader in the F1 standings, with teammate Norris 13 points behind him.

Verstappen is 22 points off the lead after ending Piastri’s run of three consecutive grand prix wins.

McLaren retain their lead in the constructors’ with Mercedes second, Red Bull third.

“I think they were happy with second and third because they thought Max had a quicker car today,” Jamie Chadwick assessed.

“When Max overtook Oscar, I thought ‘Oscar will really hound him for the next few laps’. But he didn’t. He didn’t have any response to Max, whose pace was much superior.

“Oscar was forced into a different strategy to box early. That derailed his whole race. That’s where it went wrong.

“If Lando had that much pace, he’d have cleared Oscar earlier. They didn’t give him an opportunity to fight Max. I don’t think he had anything to fight Max with.”

Villeneuve would not back down from his stark assessment of McLaren’s race at Imola.

He argued: “That weakness thing - you see it in the strategy. When Norris went long, why pit him?

“You made the decision to go long. Stay on the track, your pace is still good.

“It’s as if you’re afraid to go for it! Then, they didn’t take advantage of the Virtual Safety Car.

“It shows a lack of ‘let’s go for it…’”

McLaren’s policy of not naming a No1 driver is behind their occasionally dubious strategy decisions, Chadwick claims.

However, she noted that they remain in a very healthy position in both championships.

“It’s a case of having two No1 drivers, and no standout,” she insisted.

“If Red Bull had another driver equal to Max, it would be the same headache there.

“It’s a good problem to have. It’s not a bad thing to have two drivers fighting for the championship.

“But they can’t put in those orders so soon that one driver gets the hump with the other.

“There will be a clash at some point. You can pre-empt that. When that happens, McLaren have to handle that.

“They are playing a good team game.”

Villeneuve had the last word.

He insisted: “You can’t have two Max’s in a team. These drivers are just unique.

“He reminds me of Ayrton Senna. A driver who can ‘out-win’ the opposition.

“The Red Bull, on paper, is not a McLaren. But somehow they manage with strength and will.”

The F1 Monaco Grand Prix is next weekend offering McLaren and Red Bull a fresh challenge to go toe-to-toe again.