It’s no secret that Max Verstappen isn’t exactly the FIA’s favorite student: Jacques Villeneuve criticizes imbalance towards Oscar Piastri
In the past, world champion Max Verstappen has had a few skirmishes with the FIA – sometimes over his rough behavior on the track, sometimes off it. In the future, however, this confrontational attitude will not exactly work in the Red Bull driver’s favor – at least that’s what former champion Jacques Villeneuve believes.
The Canadian even sees Verstappen’s troubled history with the world governing body as an advantage for title contender Oscar Piastri: “Piastri is loved, he’s now something of a golden boy,” Villeneuve told Vision4Sport.
The 54-year-old adds: “If something happens, he won’t get penalties as quickly as Max Verstappen does, for example. That’s also a big help in the fight for the world championship.” Piastri currently leads the world championship standings with 131 points, while Verstappen is third, already 32 points behind.
There have been several close calls between the two on the track this year: most recently in Miami, but even more so in the penultimate race in Jeddah, when Verstappen and Piastri got into a direct duel at the start in turn one: Verstappen cut the corner, in the opinion of the stewards, to defend his lead, was penalized – and Piastri won.
Villeneuve reveals: “It reminds me of when we had Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg battling for the world championship. Nico was the one who got the penalty for the same maneuver. When Lewis did the same thing in the next race, he wasn’t penalized,” recalls the 1997 champion, pointing to an imbalance in the assessment of the two “silver enemies.”
Looking at the current situation in the world championship battle, Villeneuve believes that this is happening again – and that the roles are clearly defined: “There is this slight injustice, which is only human – and Piastri is simply on the right side of the balance,” says the Canadian, who believes that the Australian is in a much better position with the FIA stewards.
