Villeneuve slams 'weak' McLaren after defeat to Verstappen in Imola: 'They're afraid'

The Canadian believes that the Papaya team have shown their weak side in comparison to Red Bull, who are not afraid to be aggressive.

"They show weakness, basically. They don't show the strength that Red Bull is always showing year after year," he began on Sky Sports. "It's as if they're afraid to be aggressive in trying to win the drivers championship and they're afraid to go against Piastri. It's really, really odd."

Verstappen overtook Piastri in the first corner with a bold move around the outside, which has been praised by many in the F1 world. Villeneuve, however, believes that the Australian made a mistake at turn one. "Piastri messed up that first corner. He got caught out sleeping. He should never have come out of the corner second. And then he didn't have the pace, which was odd. Norris has more pace."

The race was interrupted by two safety cars, first, the virtual safety car was deployed after Esteban Ocon broke down in the middle sector, and later on in the race by Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes. The home hero's Mercedes cut out at the same spot. McLaren could've done a better job at the restart, believes the Canadian.

Verstappen won his second Grand Prix of the season in Imola after championship leader Oscar Piastri had won the previous three races. The Dutchman now sits on 124 points in third place. Nine points behind Lando Norris and 22 points behind Oscar Piastri.

After criticising McLaren, the former Williams, Honda and Sauber driver was full of praise for Max Verstappen and Red Bull. Although they haven't been dominant in 2025, the Indy 500 winner believes that this helps them maintain a fiery, competitive spirit.