Here we go. The whisper has turned into a roar. Oscar Piastri moving to Red Bull.
Is it going to happen? We can tell you it definitely will not happen in the 2026 season but as Australian fans are heavy defenders of the 24-year-old, the very fact this rumour has legs proves something is rotten at McLaren.
The Australian faithful have rightly been watching the papaya-coloured drama unfold with mounting fury. Claims have gone so far as to suggest that Piastri is now actively looking for any exit.
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Ferrari was mooted, and more recently, a bombshell Red Bull move has emerged.
Both would be career-defining gambles, especially given the uncertainty for teams in 2026.
However, the Red Bull connection is suddenly more than mere fantasy.
Will Piastri push the eject button?
Max Verstappen has been heavily linked with a potential walkout amid a period of internal unrest, even before the departure of Christian Horner.
(L to R) Christian Horner, Max Verstappen and Helmut Marko were a tight-knit group in the Red Bull stable. Â Getty
With his key ally Helmut Marko now also retiring, the potential for seismic rumblings to re-emerge if Red Bull starts to struggle is very real.
“That’s flattering, of course,” Piastri said earlier in the year to the Red Bull links.
“But ultimately, I don’t care at all. I see my future at McLaren. That’s why I recently extended my contract early beyond 2026.
“You never know how good a team will be. I’m confident we’ll continue to be at the front. The development we’ve undergone is incredible.”
Despite those comments, BBC pundit Bec Clancy revealed on the F1 podcast Inside the Piranha Club that the rumour of Piastri moving had been gaining traction after the Abu Dhabi showdown.
She said on the podcast that “there were a lot of rumours in the paddock … that Piastri was looking to join Red Bull from 2027.”
Fellow F1 journalist Ben Hunt reiterated that the idea was “entirely plausible” given the shake-up the sport is expecting.
“Well, it could definitely work,” Hunt explained.
“If Ford do come in with a super engine and Red Bull pull it all together, then Verstappen won’t be going anywhere, and people will be looking to join that team, and it’s not just Oscar Piastri, it’s probably all of them lining up to join.”
Piastri’s championship-worthy performance this season also means his position would be monitored closely by the likes of Aston Martin should they be looking for a driver.
Ralf Schumacher couldn’t believe that Lance Stroll was still positioned in the top motorsport category, which would mean Piastri could funnel into the spare seat next to Fernando Alonso, with F1 engineering great Adrien Newey at the helm.
“I’m curious to see what happens there, because, to be honest, even Lawrence Stroll can’t turn a blind eye to this issue. In my opinion, he’s [Lance Stroll] also a candidate who shouldn’t really be in Formula 1 anymore. Definitely.”
Where did this all come from?
For a time, McLaren CEO Zak Brown insisted the team adhere to a pure ‘let them race’ mantra.
Oscar Piastri has constantly been linked to Red Bull. Â Mark Sutton/Getty
A noble thought – but as always, reality sees drivers’ race day mentality shred that notion into a million pieces.
Piastri found himself on the back end of race strategies and told to hold position for his teammate Lando Norris and the pattern started all the way back in Melbourne.
For a time, he was told to hold position in Albert Park and a strategic difference let Norris fly by in the later stages of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri had a close battle in 2025. Â Getty
It was a move that planted the seeds of doubt.
How does a team that vehemently preaches fairness in the garage, afford a demonstrably superior strategy to one driver?
The question raised its head again in Hungary, where two wildly different strategies were deployed, resulting in Norris winning the battle from a frustrated Piastri.
Add in the controversial position swap at the Italian Grand Prix and you can begin to build a devastating case that Piastri was, simply put, hard done by.
And of those examples, it was the Italian GP that rankled the most.
Discussion internally were meant to centre on fairness, yet in Monza – the team issued the order for Piastri to cede second place to Norris.
A three-point loss for Piastri, but knowing that the championship came down to a razor-thin wire, every point counts.
What followed was a brutal run of races.
An uncharacteristic weekend in Azerbaijan was headlined by a crash in practice and then again on the opening lap, an error which followed a botched start.
That fed into a Singapore Grand Prix that saw contact between the McLaren pair at turn three on the opening lap, which was only addressed post-race.
The team told of internal consequences detailing Piastri getting qualifying favour, only for that to be immediately ripped away as the two again clashed in the United States GP sprint, putting both drivers back to square one.
The pervasive nature of fans nit-picking every move and critical eyes on the McLaren garage fuelled the fire that Piastri was being deliberately held back to elevate Norris.
True or not, the on-track evidence was there for all to interpret, feeding the speculation that the harmony within the papaya squad was less than genuine.
Daniel Ricciardo left Red Bull for Renault in 2019. Â
But leaving McLaren, of course, is a risk for Piastri.
One that could backfire spectacularly. Daniel Ricciardo serves as a notable cautionary tale here.
He bolted from Red Bull at the end of 2018, only to watch his former team deliver a haul of titles.
Will Piastri be the next Aussie to fall victim to the F1 grass-is-greener curse? Or is he the man to seize the drivers’ championship, that slipped his grasp, at any cost?
Only time will tell.