Jacques Villeneuve calls out McLaren for punishing Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri 'like kids'

1997 Formula 1 champion Jacques Villeneuve discussed the intra-team battle between McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, claiming that the recent repercussions are "like two kids being punished in the corner of their room".

After an incident at the start of the Singapore Grand Prix, in which Norris made a lunging move to take third position from Piastri that resulted in contact between the two, the British driver faced team-imposed repercussions 'until the end of the season'. But after another clash saw both Piastri and Norris out of the United States sprint race, Piastri has now confirmed that those repercussions have been scrapped.

McLaren has opted not to choose a number one driver and is instead allowing both drivers to race with the proviso that they do not make contact. While Villeneuve backed the decision to have two number one drivers, he urged McLaren to allow them to fully fight for the championship.

"Papaya rules doesn't work with strength - let's come out and fight for a championship," the Canadian told Sky Sports F1.

"It was like two kids being punished in the corner of their room. You've been a bad boy; you go to your room. Oh, you've been a bad boy. OK, now we have a clean slate – I mean, come on!

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"They are fighting for a championship. Look at Singapore, OK Norris tapped the car in front, slid into Oscar, then we heard 10 laps of complaining. That's not on."

Lando Norris, McLaren, Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Zak Mauger / LAT Images via Getty Images

He added: "They are both number one drivers. There's a time in the season Piastri was a bit faster, ultimately Norris is a bit stronger. They both collapsed in Baku but then he bounced back.

"Norris is a better driver when he's fighting Max, a lot better than when he's fighting his team-mate."

Adding pressure on the McLaren drivers is the threat of four-time champion Max Verstappen. A late surge in performance from the Red Bull driver sees him just 40 points behind championship leader Piastri ahead of the Mexico Grand Prix weekend. Norris sits second, 14 points behind Piastri.

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