Oscar Piastri must remain committed to McLaren despite the disappointment of missing out on the F1 2025 world championship.
The Australian proved a strong title contender, but, off the back of a frustrating campaign this year that saw him lose the title to teammate Lando Norris, has been linked with moves away from McLaren for 2027.
Why McLaren remains the best place for Oscar Piastri
Piastri led the world championship by 34 points following the Dutch Grand Prix in August, but ended the campaign third behind both Norris and the irrepressible Max Verstappen.
It was a troubled run to Abu Dhabi, especially through the Americas, which truly undid the young Aussie’s charge, elements of which opened the door for conspiracy theories to creep in.
Elements had been there for much of the year.
While McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown had insisted the team adhere to a ‘let them race’ mantra, there were examples where that was put to one side.
For a time, Piastri was told to hold position in Melbourne, while strategic differences allowed Norris to pass him in the latter stages of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
It was a move that planted the seeds of doubt; how, if the team preached fairness above all else, was one driver afforded a clearly superior strategy?
The Hungarian Grand Prix saw the question raise its head again, when two different strategies were employed, with Norris winning from Piastri as a result.
Add into the mix the positional swap at the Italian Grand Prix and one can begin to build a case that Piastri was hard done by despite the insistence that both drivers were treated fairly.
And of those examples, it was the Italian GP that rankled the most.
Discussions internally centred on fairness and how different scenarios would be treated, and delays through slow stops were deemed a part of racing.
Yet, in Monza, the team asked Piastri to cede second place to Norris.
It was a three-point loss, but effectively a six-point swing. Piastri missed out on the title by just 11 points in Abu Dhabi.
What followed was a rough run of races, which Piastri himself has intimated was influenced by the Monza radio call – a message he questioned at the time but ultimately obeyed.
He had an uncharacteristic weekend in Azerbaijan, crashing in practice and then again on the opening lap, an error which followed a botched start.
“Obviously, the race before that was Monza, which I didn’t feel was a particularly great weekend from my own performance and there was obviously what happened with the pitstops,” Piastri told F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast.
“But then also in Baku itself, Friday was tough, things weren’t working, I was overdriving, I wasn’t very happy with how I was driving and ultimately probably trying to make up for that a little bit on Saturday.
“I think there was kind of some things in the lead-up, let’s say, that were maybe not the most helpful and then things that happened on the weekend.”
He went on to describe it as “the perfect storm” as far as things going wrong.
That fed into a Singapore Grand Prix that saw contact between the McLaren pair at Turn 3 on the opening lap, which was only addressed post-race, followed by a clash with Norris in the United States GP Sprint as the tide of the championship turned in favour of his teammate.
Through it all came an undertone of favouritism; that Piastri was being held back by the team in favour of Norris.
True or not, the evidence was there to be interpreted as such, which began to feed speculation that all may now be as harmonious within the papaya squad as was being made out.
Claims went so far as to suggest Piastri was actively looking for any exit.
Ferrari was mooted, and more recently Red Bull.
Both would be a significant gamble, especially at this juncture given the uncertainty that awaits all teams in 2026.
Sweeping new regulations threaten to shakeup the sport, with no team currently sure of its position in the pecking order come next season.
A strong point in McLaren’s favour is that it is one of the few teams with stability.
It will retain its relationship with Mercedes, both drivers have contracts in place, and there have been no senior management changes.
The same cannot be said for Audi, Aston Martin, Alpine, Racing Bulls, or Red Bull, while Ferrari appears to being battling its own internal demons such that it is under a cloud.
It leaves only McLaren, Mercedes, Williams, and Haas heading into the year with continuity – a prized asset at the start of any new regulatory cycle.
However, that doesn’t guarantee success.
Watch our drifting finale with V14