F1 expert Cameron van den Dungen has claimed Oscar Piastri should be in no rush to decide his next contract with the new rules set to shake-up the sport in 2026. Piastri would have been disappointed after letting his championship lead slip in 2025 having led for a huge chunk of the season only for teammate McLaren teammate Lando Norris to win the title.
Norris needed to finish on the podium in Abu Dhabi and he did just that having finished third behind Piastri and winner Max Verstappen. There was plenty of talk leading up to the final race of the season on whether McLaren could have done more to help Piastri win the title when he had a big lead in this year’s title race.
F1 expert Cameron van den Dungen feels Oscar Piastri (pictured right) won’t be in a rush to make a decision on his future with the new rules set to shake-up the sport. (Images: Getty Images)
This may have led to Piastri feeling frustrated at points with the Aussie letting his huge lead slip. There were also suggestions he would need to support Norris in the final race of the season if Verstappen looked like winning. This has raised speculation over whether Piastri could look to leave McLaren after his current contract so he could be treated as the No.1 driver.
But next year will see F1 introduce new rules around the cars. The overhaul will see constructors race with lighter cars and it will change the dynamic of the sport. While McLaren and Red Bull adapted to the last change in 2022 the best, it remains to be seen which team adopts to the changes the best in 2026.
Although F1 expert van den Dungen feels Piastri won’t necessarily look to leave to another constructor unless he has a real oppoetunity of winning with their car. “F1 drivers will go where the best technical package is, they won’t worry about their wage so much,” he said on SEN Radio after the decider.
“The big money may be thrown at him but he’s going to look at the cars available to him. Next year he stays at McLaren, he’s got his deal there, you’re not going to jump ship, they’re the team to be with. But Mark Webber will be having some significant meetings right now. We’ve seen pictures of him with Adrian Newey the new team boss at Aston Martin.
“They’re the outlier, we don’t know where they’re going to be. George Russell had quite a public stand off with Merc wanting his multi year deal, they wanted Max. The musical chairs is ever present. Oscar will definitely be looking around but it won’t be because of the tensions at McLaren, he wont care about that so long as they can give him a car that challenges for world titles.”
Piastri is signed with McLaren for next season and there wouldn’t be a shortage of teams wanting to bring him over if he decided to leave. While Piastri was in a fierce battle with Norris right up until the last race, his teammate shared some kind words for the Aussie after the championship was decided.
Oscar Piastri (pictured) is still contracted with McLaren next year.
Lando Norris’ classy act towards Oscar Piastri
Norris was also in tears after clinching his maiden world championship. He paid a classy tribute to Aussie teammate Piastri, who led the championship for a large portion of the season.
“I’m glad I’ve had Oscar as teammate the last three years, because even though he’s still a lot newer to it than me, I’ve learned a lot from him, and he showed me up many times,” Norris admitted. “I wouldn’t be the driver I am today without that.
“He’s made me have to dig even deeper than I ever have before, because by the season’s midpoint, he was performing better than I was, and doing a better job consistently. At some point, he’s going to get the better of me, because he’s an incredible driver. I’ve learned a lot, enjoyed it a lot, and, sadly, I’ve got a lot more seasons with him in the future! So I look forward to those tough moments as well.”
Oscar Piastri celebrates with Lando Norris.