Red Bull supremo Helmut Marko has thrown a cat among the pigeons, claiming Oscar Piastri’s management is “intensively seeking conversation” with Red Bull.
Piastri is currently in his second season of Formula One driving for McLaren and earlier this year signed a multi-year contract extension that will run until the end of the 2026 season.
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He claimed his maiden win in Hungary and backed it up with a superb drive in Azerbaijan to win his second F1 grand prix.
His defence on Charles Leclerc in that race, and a bold overtake on his teammate Lando Norris at the Italian Grand Prix have prompted many commentators and ex-drivers to label Piastri a future world champion.
McLaren leads the team standings by 40 points over Red Bull and is on track to claim the constructors championship for the first time since 1998.
With Norris and Piastri, McLaren has one of the most talented and stable driver pairings in F1, but according to Marko that may not be the case.
The 81-year-old claimed Piastri’s manager Mark Webber has been inquiring about a potential move to Red Bull.
The Red Bull motorsport advisor told F1 insider: “Let’s put it this way: Mark Webber is intensively seeking conversation.”
Piastri though poured cold water on that claim ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix.
“I think we all know that Helmut says a lot of things in the press,” Piastri said.
“As far as I’m aware there’s no truth to it. I’m very, very happy where I am.”
It’s an eyebrow-raising claim given Piastri’s contract extension, the stability at McLaren and the fact that being Verstappen’s teammate at Red Bull has proved a death knell for drivers in the past.
Max Verstappen is contracted until 2028 and Sergio Perez is has a deal until the end of 2026, but it would not be the biggest surprise of either driver didn’t see out their contract.
Verstappen is expected to claim a fourth F1 world title this year, but he has been linked to Mercedes and Aston Martin, who have recruited legendary car designer Adrian Newey on an eye-watering deal.
It’s no guarantee Verstappen will stay at Red Bull — the death of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz and the investigation into team principal Christian Horner has caused somewhat of a power struggle at the team.
Perez’s form has been average at best and the 34-year-old’s future at Red Bull remains unclear.
Marko has been trying his best to get under the skin of McLaren, criticising Norris’ mental strength in comments that McLaren said were in poor taste.
After last weekend’s United States Grand Prix, he also declared: “We are very lucky at Red Bull that Lewis Hamilton isn’t driving for McLaren in 2024 because if he was, he would easily win the championship this season in their car.”
Webber is one of Australia’s most successful F1 drivers, claiming nine race wins — one more than Daniel Ricciardo — during his time with Red Bull in 2007-2013.
He was forced to play second fiddle on many occasions to teammate and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel — and famously delivered the iconic line “Not bad for a number two driver” after winning the 2010 British Grand Prix.
The No. 2 driver discussion has reared its ugly head at McLaren this year.
Many pundits have argued McLaren should have let Norris win the Hungarian Grand Prix and had him finish in front of Piastri at the Italian Grand Prix to help him shave the deficit to Verstappen in the drivers standings.
Norris currently trails Verstappen by 57 points with five races remaining this season.
Piastri’s impressive drive in Azerbaijan shut down any talk of being a No. 2 driver — McLaren say the team doesn’t have a No. 1 and No. 2 driver, but Piastri has said he is happy to help his teammate’s title bid where he can.
Former F1 driver and six-time race winner Ralf Schumacher believes Red Bull would be silly not to try and recruit Piastri.
“If I were Red Bull, I would also endeavour to get Piastri,” said Schumacher.
“He is not only a super talent, but also extremely hard-nosed. He will get even better in the future and the small disadvantages he still has compared to Norris will soon disappear.
“Furthermore, Red Bull cannot rely on Verstappen still being in the team in 2026. They have to be prepared for that. Piastri would be the ideal replacement. I am therefore very curious to see how McLaren will approach the Piastri issue in the future.”
Meanwhile VCARB driver Yuki Tsunoda is expected to test drive the Red Bull RB20 following a push from team backers Honda for the Japanese driver to show what he can do in the F1 car.
The F1 season continues this weekend at the Mexican Grand Prix on Monday at 7am (AEDT).
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