Jacques Villeneuve says ‘nasty’ Oscar Piastri did something he’s never seen him do before at the Canadian Grand Prix

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella and CEO Zak Brown knew this day would eventually arrive.

The Canadian Grand Prix has seen two McLaren drivers clash before and Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris repeated that feat on Sunday.

Piastri outqualified his teammate once again but Norris appeared to be the fastest driver out of the pair during Sunday’s race.

He nailed the alternative strategy after Martin Brundle spotted a ‘glitch’ in Norris’ qualifying performance and was quickly closing down the drivers’ championship leader in the closing stages.

However, after Andrea Kimi Antonelli was forced to defend from both drivers, Norris misjudged an attempt to go down the inside of Piastri heading towards the first corner and slammed into the back of his McLaren.

Piastri escaped without any significant damage but Norris’ race was immediately over and it allowed the Australian to further increase his lead in the standings.

Norris immediately took responsibility over the team radio for the collision, but F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve had his own take on their tangle.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Lando Norris’ life outside F1 from parents to celebration

Jacques Villeneuve calls out ‘nasty’ Oscar Piastri after the Canadian Grand Prix

Villeneuve was speaking on Instagram after the race and reflecting on Sunday’s action, he said: “Montreal Grand Prix over and a great podium for Antonelli.

“He needed it after the last three races that were difficult, now he’ll get a little bit more confidence, that will be great for him.

“What could have been, should have been an exciting race, turned into a not-so-exciting race.

“Also, at the end of the race, the rules allow for a red flag so we can have a new start for a two-lap sprint, always exciting and they decided to have a boring safety car finish, too bad.

“It was mainly a race of attrition on the tyres basically, they were all massaging the tyres instead of pushing hard.

“Sainz got a point, a good recovery, but then the clash between the two McLaren drivers, [it was] easy to point the finger at Norris.

“He realised too late that Piastri was moving towards the left because he had his nose in the gearbox of Piastri, he didn’t realise it and Piastri was edging gradually towards the left.

“He’s not supposed to be doing that, it was a little bit nasty, so there will be some talks later inside the team.”

READ MORE: McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s life outside F1 from height to girlfriend

Oscar Piastri laments ‘tricky’ Canadian Grand Prix after Lando Norris collision

Nico Rosberg has relayed what he’s heard about Piastri’s mentality behind the scenes that suggests he’s a potential future world champion.

The Australian may not agree with Villeneuve’s take on him closing the door on Norris and ultimately was very lucky that his race wasn’t ended by their contact.

Rosberg thinks Piastri is the clear favourite for the championship now, but speaking after the race, the 24-year-old was more circumspect about his prospects.

He said in his official post-race interview: “It was a tricky race. It wasn’t my best start and then we were a little on the back foot from there.

“In the second half of the race, the pace was good, it was just tough to overtake. We come away with 12 points which is what we could have maximised today.”

McLaren were nowhere near their dominant best in Canada and that will be in the back of Piastri and Norris’ mind as they continue their championship challenges.

They’ve both talked about how they can’t rule Max Verstappen out yet and he made ground on both drivers with his second-place finish in Montreal.