Max Verstappen saga fuels Oscar Piastri rumours as sources clarify situation

For the past few days, the F1 paddock has been flooded with speculation that, despite Oscar Piastri's contract running until the end of 2028, the Australian is preparing to leave McLaren and has allegedly already informed the Woking-based team of his intention to depart at the end of the season.

While that rumour is spreading like wildfire, RacingNews365 has learned from sources within both the team and the driver’s inner circles that "nothing has changed" regarding the relationship between the 25-year-old driver and McLaren.

According to these sources, the nine-time grand prix winner will remain with defending constructors' champions for the "foreseeable" future.

One source also noted that there is a lot of "incorrect" information circulating about Piastri and Max Verstappen, whose F1 future is also a key talking point at the moment.

Piastri’s future has come into the spotlight because, as is well known, there is still no agreement between the Dutchman and Red Bull about their future together.

The four-time F1 drivers' champion's contract is valid until the end of 2028, but an exit clause would allow him to leave the Milton Keynes squad as early as the end of this season.

According to the alleged clause, if the 28-year-old is not in one of the top two positions at the start of the summer break, he can initiate the termination of the contract.

He currently sits in seventh in the standings and no longer has a mathematical chance of climbing into the top two positions by the summer break. Paddock sources indicate that the 71-time grand prix winner has until early October to activate this exit clause.

Although the parties have always found common ground over the years, the situation between Verstappen and the team has grown tense due to a weaker-than-expected start to the season and recent technical difficulties.

While Red Bull's latest upgrade package yielded results, the rear-wing debacle that caused serious accidents in Spielberg and Silverstone has visibly disheartened the driver, while simultaneously reigniting rumours about his future.

According to some reports, Verstappen's management has been in talks with representatives from Mercedes, Ferrari, and McLaren.

At the same time — although difficult to imagine and a would-be terrible loss for the championship — some theories suggest that a sabbatical year, or complete retirement, is not entirely out of the question either, and the situation surrounding Verstappen is intertwined with the speculation regarding Piastri's future.

There is a scenario floating around where Verstappen and Piastri would swap seats for 2027. Other rumours suggest that if the former moves to another team, or steps away from the grid entirely due to his lack of enthusiasm for the current regulations, the latter would take his place.

Although RacingNews365 sources within Red Bull circles have once again confirmed that the company management's primary goal is to keep the relationship ongoing with Verstappen, it has been an open secret for some time that Piastri is high on the list of potential successors, if a situation were to arise.

According to our sources, this remains accurate, though there are other candidates on the Laurent Mekies-led team's list as well.

Although all signs indicate that Piastri is not preparing for a move at this moment, in the event of potential turbulent driver market movements, the possibility cannot be ruled out that the situation will change.

Either way, this story looks set to engulf the paddock in Spa-Francorchamps and the Hungaroring, the two final rounds before the summer break.