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FWC on Sport Nation guidePiastri's manager breaks silence on Red Bull trade rumour
SEN • July 12th, 2026 1:04 pm
Oscar Piastri’s manager Mark Webber has responded to the relentless speculation linking the Aussie with a move to Red Bull, claiming that “a lot of fiction has been written”.
With the annual F1 trade rumour mill already in overdrive amid paddock whispers that Max Verstappen will switch to McLaren or retire, the assumption has been that Piastri would be the driver to lose his seat at the papaya.
No amount of denial from McLaren boss Zak Brown or Piastri himself has satisfied the constant querying. Now Webber has spoken out.
“Oscar is contracted to McLaren for the foreseeable future,” Webber told RACER. “Talk of him agitating to leave is nonsense.
“There has been a lot of fiction written about him and other teams… McLaren have repeatedly said they want him for the long term and Oscar is focused on that.”
Both Piastri and teammate Lando Norris are believed to be contracted with McLaren until 2028, but F1 is a fickle sport where signatures often mean very little.
“They're rumours,” Brown said at Silverstone last weekend when asked of the Verstappen reports.
“I’m very happy with my two racing drivers, Lando and Oscar. I think anytime a name like Max is thrown around, people get pretty excited – a four-time World Champion – but (I’m) very happy with our driver line-up.”
The 2026 season has not mirrored its predecessor when it comes to success for Piastri. This time 12 months ago he was leading the drivers championship and had five wins to his name in a season he would eventually finish third.
This year, he has failed to start two races and only managed the same number of podiums with no wins.
F1 heads to Spa this weekend and then Hungary before the annual month break.
