Former world champion Jacques Villeneuve saw how McLaren made a strategic error in Suzuka. According to the 1997 Canadian champion, they called Oscar Piastri – who was leading the race at that moment – in for a pit stop much too early. ‘The team should have realized that the new tires didn’t work for two or three laps’, said Villeneuve.
Read more Aston Martin held its own championship at Suzuka: ‘Fun race for the last places’
After both McLaren drivers were unable to complete a racing lap in China, the Japanese GP went much better for the British team. Oscar Piastri not only reached the finish line for the first time this season, but also immediately took second place. Lando Norris, however, had to settle for fifth place. According to Jacques Villeneuve, the team could have collected many more valuable World Championship points if they had handled their pit stop strategy better.
NOW ONLINE: 40-page Japanese GP Race Special: our online magazine with current events, reactions, analysis, and interview!
The 1997 world champion wondered on F1TV why McLaren chose to have Piastri switch to the hard tire, even though they had previously seen how Norris struggled enormously on this compound. “It looked like Piastri could have stayed in front,” Villeneuve looks back on the moment the Australian held the lead of the race. “They handled their batteries differently on different parts of the track, and it doesn’t seem like Mercedes’ approach in the race was the right one. It was good for setting fast lap times, because as soon as he was driving alone, he flew across the track, but not in a fight.”
Read more Piastri fears ‘no easy solution’ for large speed differences after Bearman crash
‘Undercut didn’t work’
Villeneuve therefore doesn’t understand why McLaren called Piastri in for an undercut on the Mercedes cars. “The McLaren could have stayed in front. What I didn’t understand is why Piastri was pitted after Norris had already been pitted. The team should have realized that the new tires didn’t work for two or three laps,” the current analyst continues. “So why don’t you read what has already happened and wait two or three laps longer, because the undercut didn’t work? It made no sense to pit first.” Shortly after Piastri’s pit stop, Oliver Bearman caused a safety car period, allowing eventual winner Andrea Kimi Antonelli to make a shortened pit stop.
NOW ONLINE: 40-page Japanese GP Race Special: our online magazine with current events, reactions, analysis, and interview!
Read more Sainz calls for more driver input after Bearman crash: ‘Teams think racing is okay’
