Rumours surrounding Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen: Mark Webber sets the record straight

Red Bull Racing star Max Verstappen is a crowd favourite. This was evident, for example, during his guest appearance at the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring. The organisers were delighted with record figures, both at the track and amongst the global audience watching the live stream, whilst the Dutchman was competing in the race. Consequently, there is a great deal of writing and speculation about the four-time champion.

There is also repeated talk of a possible team switch for this exceptional talent: Verstappen has been linked with several teams in the Formula 1 field. Rumours of a possible move to Mercedes, for example, persisted, but team principal Toto Wolff put an end to them by making it clear that he had no intention of changing his current line-up and would continue to rely on the services of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.

This was followed by rumours that Verstappen would be moving to McLaren, and McLaren CEO Zak Brown also emphasised, in response to numerous enquiries, that he was satisfied with his two drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. The American explained: “I’m very happy with my two drivers, Lando and Oscar. And of course everyone gets excited when a name like Max Verstappen comes up, because he’s a four-time world champion. But I’m happy with our driver line-up.”

Now Piastri’s manager, Mark Webber, has also responded to the rumours. The former Formula 1 driver and nine-time Grand Prix winner from Australia told a colleague at ‘Racer.com’: “Oscar is under contract with McLaren for the foreseeable future. The talk that he wants to leave the team is nonsense. Lots of rumours have been circulating about him and other teams. McLaren have repeatedly emphasised that they want to keep him for the long term, and Oscar is focusing on that.”

Topic of the week

From major doubts to a major spectacle: why GP fans have reason to be delighted

Before the start of the season, critical voices dominated, but the World Championship rounds so far have shown that the rule changes are delivering exactly what was hoped for: excitement right up to the final lap.

Read more

TV program

Live

Spa: FP1

FIA Formula One World Championship

17.07.2026 - 13:15