![\"McLaren](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/piastri-norris-mclaren-equal-opportunity.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Image: XPB Images.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Image: XPB Images.<\/p>\n
With seven rounds remaining, Verstappen has reignited his title charge following back-to-back wins, closing the gap to Piastri to just 69 points.<\/p>\n
The 1997 world champion believes McLaren must prioritise one driver if they are to mount a serious challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe difficult thing for Norris is that, if Verstappen gets closer and closer, the team has to start favouring Piastri,\u201d Villeneuve told OLBG.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe then has to become the number one. Above all, we are then talking about a title fight between two different teams.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt promises to be a tough battle, since we are talking about the best driver in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Verstappen\u2019s resurgence has placed added pressure on both McLaren drivers.<\/p>\n
\t\tFull Credit to the Noise – Your light-hearted take on motorsport\u2019s biggest news Click here to listen<\/a> <\/p>\n Norris, in particular, has struggled to make the most of opportunities, such as when Piastri crashed out in Azerbaijan<\/a>, allowing Verstappen to claw back momentum<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cNorris is in a predicament,\u201d Villeneuve said.<\/p>\n \u201cMax\u2019s victory in Azerbaijan really put him back in the title race, and he is not someone who succumbs under pressure.<\/p>\n \u201cIn fact, Verstappen will actually add to the pressure for both McLaren drivers.\u201d<\/p>\n Villeneuve said the Dutchman now leads the chase rather than the pack, a position that suits him perfectly.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is on McLaren\u2019s heels, knows exactly where they are and where he needs to go,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat makes it easy. But when you\u2019re ahead, you can\u2019t see what\u2019s happening behind you. Sometimes you are tempted to look back, but you can\u2019t afford to.\u201d<\/p>\n The Canadian also praised Red Bull\u2019s turnaround since introducing its new floor in Monza, which has given Verstappen the edge in recent races.<\/p>\n \u201cRed Bull has turned the tide and is delivering great performances under pressure,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are real fighters. Last year McLaren showed that they are not that yet, and that is recognised internally.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. Image: XPB Images. With seven rounds remaining, Verstappen has reignited his title charge…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":47146,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[41179,4260,4262,111,139,69,7214,9335,213],"class_list":["post-47145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-jacques-villeneuve","tag-lando-norris","tag-mclaren","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-oscar-piastri","tag-slot2","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47145\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}