Oscar Piastri 'talking to another F1 team' as major McLaren question asked

Juan Pablo Montoya believes Oscar Piastri and his manager Mark Webber are "already talking to another F1 team" amid speculation there is growing dissatisfaction with his treatment at McLaren.

The former F1 driver, who raced in the championship between 2001 and 2006, claims he can "guarantee" that conversations to that effect are taking place, but that a question mark over how happy the 24-year-old is remains.

After seizing control of the F1 drivers' championship battle this year, Piastri suffered a collapse in form, something that may have been in part precipitated by the Woking-based squad asking him to move aside for Lando Norris, who went on to win the title, during the Italian Grand Prix.

That was due to the constructors' champions devoting to maintaining parity between its drivers, with the Briton disadvantaged by a slow pit stop after allowing his team-mate to be pitted first from behind, something that is against the status quo in F1.

Piastri, who was unhappy with the instruction, later conceded that it was still playing on his mind at the subsequent round in Baku, when he endured his worst weekend of the campaign with two crashes and a false start.

On the low-grip surfaces at the United States and Mexico City Grands Prix, his pace fell away further, unable to get the most out of his MCL39 and taking home a pair of fifth-place finishes.

Those events, grouped with McLaren's decision not to intervene after Norris barged past the Australian during the Singapore Grand Prix, contributed to the narrative that the papaya squad was prioritising the 26-year-old.

Ultimately, perceived favouritism of Norris aside, Piastri failed to win over the final nine rounds of the campaign, seeing his once 34-point advantage turn into a 13-point deficit at the chequered flag of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen also ahead of him in the standings.

According to Montoya, the situation has culminated in Piastri and Webber seeking opportunities elsewhere in the F1 paddock.

"I guarantee you that Oscar Piastri and Mark Webber [his manager] are already talking to another F1 team,” the seven-time grand prix winner told Grosvenor Casinos.

"I don’t think Mark Webber was satisfied with Oscar’s development at McLaren. Mark isn’t very happy with McLaren. But the question is whether Oscar is very unhappy with McLaren."

Montoya, who raced against Webber in F1, argued it is imperative that the shortcomings and missteps from the Australian's time in F1 do not bleed into Piastri's career.

Webber's time alongside Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull and the tensions that arose as their relationship fractured are well documented, with the former's relationship with the team also becoming strained.

Having fallen just short of winning the crown in 2010, Webber was consigned to second-driver status as the German went on to win four consecutive championships, including the one his team-mate missed out on.

Montoya is concerned that it could come back to bite Piastri, given his close ties to Webber. The former Williams and McLaren driver added: "I think they need to be careful and make sure that Webber’s scars from his time as a race car driver have nothing to do with Oscar’s career."

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