Villeneuve brands Piastri's Azerbaijan lock-up a 'rookie mistake' after costly Baku collapse

Oscar Piastri’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix unravelled in a single braking zone on Sunday, when the McLaren driver locked both front wheels while running third at the Baku City Circuit, ultimately finishing 14th and drawing sharp criticism from 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve.

Defending his position from Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar down the main straight, Piastri locked up and ran wide into the run-off area. The incident dropped him out of podium contention and into 15th place, from which he could recover only one position by the flag.

“It was a rookie mistake,” Villeneuve said while analysing the incident. “He got caught out, looking in his mirrors, and just completely missed. It’s the truth. Mistakes happen. You push too hard, but then you can see he was looking in his mirrors and just completely missed.”

Three-time W Series champion Jamie Chadwick, who joined Villeneuve on the broadcast panel, offered a more measured take. “It’s rare that you see a double lock-up like that from a driver like that. It seemed odd to me,” she said, while also noting broader struggles for the McLaren garage. “There was a lot of complaining generally from both McLaren drivers about struggling to get the best out of their car.”

Piastri himself admitted the moment caught him off guard. “I didn’t think I braked super late or super hard. Just instantly locked both fronts, so I need to obviously look at that,” he said. “Just a disappointing end to the day. I think the first half of the race was very strong, so yeah, a shame to not have anything to show for it.”

The afternoon was equally damaging for McLaren’s title ambitions at large. Team-mate Lando Norris crashed out after contact with Alpine’s Franco Colapinto and Pierre Gasly, leaving the Woking outfit without a points finish from either car in Baku.