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'Significant meetings': Piastri will talk to other F1 teams
SEN • December 8th, 2025 11:51 am
With the F1 season done and dusted the circus of driver movement starts and, despite most teams having their line-ups for 2026 locked in, Oscar Piastri will be looking around for alternatives.
The Australian is signed to drive for McLaren next season but contracts mean little in F1.
Piastri, who finished third in the drivers’ championship after a second-place finish at the season finale in Abu Dhabi, will be a driver in demand after an impressive season which included seven race wins.
There have also been relentless whispers about internal unrest within McLaren and preferential treatment towards Norris which, some believe, was a deliberate sabotage on Piastri’s title hopes.
Asked if he believes the Australian will still be with the papaya in years to come, F1 expert Cameron van den Dungen told SEN: “F1 drivers will go where the best technical package is, they won’t worry about their wage so much.
“The big money may be thrown at him but he’s going to look at the cars available to him. Next year he stays at McLaren, he’s got his deal there, you’re not going to jump ship, they’re the team to be with.
“But Mark Webber will be having some significant meetings right now. We’ve seen pictures of him with Adrian Newey the new team boss at Aston Martin.
“They’re the outlier, we don’t know where they’re going to be. George Russell had quite a public stand off with Merc wanting his multi year deal, they wanted Max. The musical chairs is ever present.
“Oscar will definitely be looking around but it won’t be because of the tensions at McLaren, he wont care about that so long as they can give him a car that challenges for world titles.”
It’s not the first time an Australian driver has been subjected to questionable behaviour by McLaren. In 2023 Daniel Ricciardo was acrimoniously sacked mid-season and replaced by his compatriot.
Ricciardo’s story is one to take learnings from.
“The lesson in Dan Ricciardo is - don’t run from a fight. Ricciardo had the package.
“It could be better over with Renault, the possibility is there. It’s such a risk if you’re not in the right car at the right time your career can disappear in half a season just look at Yuki Tsunoda. You have to be in the right car at the right time.
“Webber didn’t pick the right car except maybe 2010.”
