Oscar Piastri warned over risky Red Bull gamble with McLaren ‘entering pomp’
Oscar Piastri has been linked to Red Bull in a straight swap with Max Verstappen
Oscar Piastri is said to be facing a crossroads in his Formula 1 career, as Otmar Szafnauer and Rob Smedley warn that leaving McLaren, even for Red Bull, may not be his best option.
Piastri has been linked to Red Bull in a straight swap with four-time F1 world champion Max Verstappen.
Oscar Piastri warned against swapping McLaren for Red Bull
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It’s an interesting prospect, if there’s any truth behind it, for Piastri.
Not only would the Australian take up the number-one role at Red Bull, but it would also put an end to conspiracies of favouritism towards Lando Norris after Piastri lost the F1 2025 title to his teammate.
Piastri would step out of his teammate’s alleged shadow, but would it yield a world title?
At present, it is McLaren that has the better car than Red Bull and its Miami Grand Prix upgrades cemented that.
Not only did Norris and Piastri finish 1-2 in the Sprint, but the teammates also joined Kimi Antonelli on the grand prix podium.
It has former F1 team principal Otmar Szafnauer questioning whether changing teams, even for Red Bull, would be worth it for Piastri.
“Last season, in the middle of the season, I thought he [Piastri] was going to win it,” Szafnauer admitted. “After I put all my money on Lando, I thought: ‘Can I just get some of my money back, because I’m going to lose?’
“And then it all turned good [for Lando]. Last season, I thought Oscar was going to win it mid-season.
“This season, it’s too [early]. We’re not even into the year yet. It’s hard to predict, so that’s why that big ‘if’ is there.
“So if, over time, it looks like I’m going to struggle to win the world championship to beat this guy. Not necessarily 100 per cent of the time.
“For example, I always thought Lewis [Hamilton] was going to beat [Nico] Rosberg, always. And there was a year where Rosberg beat him, and then he retired.
“A similar thing could happen if Lando keeps winning and then maybe Oscar will or not, but that’s why [there is] the big ‘if’.
“Would you then leave to go to another team, so you got a chance at the world title? Because he is a great driver, but so is Lando. I think they’re pretty equal.”
Equal teammate, but does Piastri feel he has a shot against Norris for the title?
F1 2026 McLaren scores: Oscar Piastri v Lando Norris
F1 2026: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between teammates
F1 2026: Head-to-head race statistics between teammates
That’s a difficult question for Piastri with former Ferrari race engineer Smedley claiming that McLaren is the team best placed to take the fight to Mercedes, but does the driver feel he can challenge Norris on equal terms.
“That’s a hard one for a driver,” Smedley replied on the High Performance Racing podcast.
“McLaren [is] catching up. Mercedes is in front of this point, but [over the] last two years they’ve been probably the best team.
“This year they’ll be there or thereabouts. They know how to win world championships now, they could now win multiple constructors’ world championships on the bounce.
“So that’s telling you that this is a team that is entering its pomp if it doesn’t mess up.
“Then, if you’re a driver in that team and you’re struggling against your teammate – and I’m going back now to my Ferrari days – what’s the option for you?
“Do you leave and go to a worse team that actually has no chance of winning the world championship, but you might be the better driver in the team? The number one?”
And then he laid down his warning to Piastri, “I’ve seen that on many an occasion. I’ve seen drivers do that and I’ve never seen it work out well.
“I’ve never seen it where the driver has been happier.”
Last year Piastri signed a new multi-year contract with McLaren, one that would keep the Australian racer at the team “for the long term.”
And McLaren CEO Zak Brown has made it clear he’s not letting go of either Piastri or Norris any time soon.
“I couldn’t be happier with our driver line-up,” Brown told Sky F1 in Miami. “Lando and Oscar are not only two great guys on and off the track, but also shine as teammates.”
He believes that is what “has made McLaren so successful… So I couldn’t be happier with what we have and have no intention of changing anything about it.”
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