Villeneuve Doubts McLaren Rivalry Will Turn ‘Senna-Prost’

Jacques Villeneuve says he doesn’t expect the rising McLaren title fight between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to turn into a legendary intra-team war – at least not yet.

With McLaren dominating the 2025 constructors’ standings heading into the August break, all eyes are now on which of the two young drivers will emerge on top in the second half of the season.

“They always seem happy when their opponent does better and wins a race,” Villeneuve told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “It’s a bit of a strange situation.

“I can’t imagine, for example, Senna and Prost doing the same thing.

“But I think that once they’re sure they’ve won the Constructors’ Championship, they’ll start to show their character more on the track,” said the 1997 world champion. “And then the competition between the two will really heat up.

“Or at least I hope so!”

McLaren CEO Zak Brown confirmed to De Telegraaf that the team is sticking to a policy of “fair and equal racing” – enforced by internal so-called ‘papaya rules’ designed to prevent contact, but not competition.

“Our drivers are treated equally and fairly,” Brown said. “They get to decide who becomes champion, and at the same time, the constructors’ title takes care of itself.”

Brown, however, acknowledged the risks and the pressure.

“We know there are risks involved, if you want to call it that from a driver’s perspective, like in 2007,” he said, referencing Hamilton vs Alonso. “The downside of favouring one driver is that the other might leave.”

Piastri, for instance, was visibly angry after a controversial penalty at Silverstone cost him a win, but Brown says the issue was handled.

“Oscar was angry after the race at Silverstone, and that was understandable. I had to break the ice with him,” said Brown.

“I sometimes got nasty messages from fans on social media. After that race, one message from an Oscar fan was quite intense. Oscar and I were walking somewhere together, and I showed him the message and he said, ‘Hey, you didn’t have to show me that!'” he laughed.

“Oscar had already cooled down by then.”

Another close call came last weekend in Hungary, but McLaren still secured a 1-2 finish. “The tension will only increase,” Brown predicted, “and they’ll definitely meet on track, but I’m confident they won’t deliberately run each other off.

“Racing incidents are part of the game.”