Villeneuve brands Mexican GP practice ‘continuation’ of ‘messy’ Oscar Piastri

A scrappy qualifying simulation run left Oscar Piastri down the order at the end of Friday at the Mexican Grand Prix, with Jacques Villeneuve unwilling to cut him any slack.

Piastri was 12th fastest at the end of the second hour of practice, eight-tenths off the pace laid down by Max Verstappen, though he remained optimistic post-session.

Scrappy qualifying sim leaves Oscar Piastri 12th in Practice 2

Piastri heads into the Mexico City Grand Prix holding a 14-point advantage at the top of the championship standings.

It’s an advantage that has been eroded over recent races with the Australian having been unable to match Verstappen or his own McLaren teammate, Lando Norris.

The comparative dip in performance prompted McLaren to conduct a deep assessment of his car, and while he conceded there were some areas that could be tidied up, there was no smoking gun.

“All small things, but when you put them all together, they add up,” Piastri told Sky Sports.

In Mexico on Friday, McLaren’s longer run pace looked encouraging, with Ferrari advising Charles Leclerc that it was strong, though noting Norris was the quicker of the papaya pair.

Norris’ best single lap was 0.251s away from Verstappen, just under six-tenths quicker than Piastri in 12th, behind Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls, though he suggested there’s more to it than the timesheets showed.

“The lap on softs and low fuel was pretty average, so I’m not surprised with the lap time,” he confessed.

“But I tried a lot of things. We’ll go through and have a look at what worked, what didn’t, but overall, I felt reasonable.

“It’s going to be tight, like always,” he added.

“But I think we’ve got a good car underneath us.”

While Piastri remained positive despite a tough day, 1997 world champion Villeneuve was critical of his performance, describing it as a “continuation” of his current form.

The recent trend has left Piastri third fastest of the three title contenders, with both Norris and Verstappen edging closer in the points race.

“We didn’t hear a lot of confidence there,” he said on Sky Sports following Piastri’s interview.

“It’s messy. His driving has been messy since Baku, and you can see it. Normally, that means a tenth, two-tenths, a little mistake here and there, not setting the car right.

“It gets into your head. And seeing Max again in front, that’s going to eat him all evening.”

More on Oscar Piastri’s title hopes

👉 Oscar Piastri confirms McLaren findings after United States GP investigation

👉 Oscar Piastri reveals McLaren repercussions after sprint clash with Lando Norris

Verstappen topped the session with a lap 0.153s quicker than Charles Leclerc who was second best. Norris was only fourth.

At 40 points back in the title race, the Red Bull driver remains an outside but growing threat. He’s reduced his deficit by more than 60 points in recent races as Red Bull has rediscovered its race-winning form.

Villeneuve has suggested that, having led the championship for 15 races, Red Bull’s rise coupled with Piastri’s diminishing points advantage is playing on his mind.

“To think about it in an easy way, is run,” Villeneuve explained.

“If you’re looking backward as you’re running, things will go wrong, and then that’s what’s happening.”

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