'Crazy' McLaren behaviour prompts F1 'wake-up call'

An outspoken F1 star has claimed that McLaren did not act like world champions during their dismal showing at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Following a race at Monza in which the team was clouded by a team orders fiasco, they headed to Baku in the hope of putting in a better performance.

However, championship leader Oscar Piastri put in an error-strewn display in both qualifying and the race, eventually crashing out on lap one to take zero points away from the weekend. Lando Norris, meanwhile, had the opportunity to cut the gap in the standings to Piastri with his DNF, but he could only finish seventh in the race last time out.

Max Verstappen was the big winner, and his two consecutive victories at the expense of McLaren in Monza and Baku mean that he has cut the gap to Piastri down to 69 points in the championship, while he is only 44 points behind Norris.

The result also meant that the dominant McLaren team were not able to seal the constructors' championship, despite only needing to outscore Ferrari by nine points to do so.

Now, 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve has suggested that McLaren are struggling after being put under pressure by improved performances from Red Bull and Mercedes, with the drivers' championship potentially on the line.

"There was no reason to foresee any difficulties for either of the drivers," Villeneuve told OLBG. "Until now, they've never been put under that kind of pressure or found themselves in this situation this season. They were used to being in this situation when they were not fighting for the championship, so it didn't matter.

"Suddenly with the championship at stake, you have a weekend where you're not superior. That applied to the whole team. Even the pit stop for Norris wasn't fantastic. So, the whole team, the two drivers, nobody shone. None of them acted like world champions which is crazy.

"That was a wake-up call. McLaren can only afford one weekend like this."

Can Verstappen win the title?

Verstappen's win in Baku may just have given him a glimmer of hope that he can claim a record-equalling fifth consecutive world title after all.

For large swathes of the season, it has been a two-horse race between Piastri and Norris for the title, with McLaren's MCL39 proving to be much too fast even for four-time champion Verstappen.

McLaren have claimed seven one-twos across the first 17 grands prix weekends, and will only need to score 13 points in Singapore next time out to secure their second successive constructors' title.

But there is concern for the first time in 2025 that the drivers' championship may not be heading the way of a McLaren driver for the first time since 2008 with Lewis Hamilton.

McLaren need a strong showing at Singapore next weekend to banish that concern.

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