Webber blindsides Piastri: “Oscar has a contract with McLaren. The rumors of farewell are baseless”

Piastri-McLaren still together After days of speculation and hypotheses, fueled above all by the movements of Max Verstappen’s entourage, regarding a possible exchange of seats between the Dutch champion and Oscar Piastri, the Australian’s manager, Mark Webber, froze everyone. In fact, interviewed by the RACER website, Webber categorically ruled out a change of jersey for Piastri, dismantling the hypotheses of an alleged intention of Piastri to free himself from McLaren at the end of this season by taking advantage of the ‘usual’ clauses linked to performance. “Oscar has a contract with McLaren for the foreseeable future – Webber told RACER – The rumors about his possible departure are baseless. Many fabrications have been written about him and other teams. McLaren have repeatedly said they want him long-term and Oscar is focused on this.” Webber had been the architect of Piastri’s controversial transfer from Alpine to McLaren and was considered the right way to bring the Australian to Red Bull, given his past. Now, however, these words seem to definitively close this door. What a future for Verstappen Webber’s clear position regarding Piastri could also have concrete effects on the future of Max Verstappen. The Dutch champion is in fact at odds with Red Bull, but without even the McLaren option available anymore he doesn’t seem to have any realistic opportunities in top teams. The seats of Ferrari, Mercedes and, indeed, McLaren are all blocked for 2027. At this point, therefore, if Verstappen really wants to break the umbilical cord that ties him to Milton Keynes, he will have to agree to take a sabbatical or abandon F1 to perhaps concentrate on other categories. Of course, if you look closely, McLaren would still have the WEC project, with the Papaya team racing in the Hypercar category in 2027. But this – at least for the moment – really seems like a fantasy market to the nth degree.

Automobile Magazine – Formula1 English, News

2026-07-10 14:41:00