Big Piastri hint over 2026 bias claims as McLaren reveals \u2018grumpy\u2019 talks<\/a><\/p>\nPiastri was briefly linked to Red Bull earlier this year but ruled out a move. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s flattering, of course,\u201d he said of the links. \u201cBut ultimately, I don\u2019t care at all. I see my future at McLaren. That\u2019s why I recently extended my contract early beyond 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never know how good a team will be. I\u2019m confident we\u2019ll continue to be at the front. The development we\u2019ve undergone is incredible.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the beginning of 2023, we were last, now we\u2019re the ones with the best car \u2013 and that without a rule revolution. We now want to crown this journey by winning both world championship titles.\u201d<\/p>\n
Awkward Hamilton radio exchange | 01:13<\/p>\n
SHOULD PIASTRI CONSIDER LEAVING? <\/p>\n
Setting, and maintaining, a total level playing field for two drivers seeking a maiden world championship is one thing. <\/p>\n
You wonder what it looks like when one driver is a world champion, and the other thinks they should be. <\/p>\n
That is the potential scenario facing McLaren next year with Piastri undoubtedly a driver of championship-winning ilk, but without the evidential hardware Norris now boasts. <\/p>\n
Granted there is no guarantee McLaren contends at all in 2026 with a new era of regulations\u2014 lighter cars, increased battery power and active aerodynamics \u2014 set to wipe the slate clean. For what it\u2019s worth, it\u2019s been a longstanding rumour in F1 this season that Mercedes is poised to lead initially with the best power unit in development. <\/p>\n
Either way, harmony within McLaren and the longevity of Papaya Rules already shapes as one of the most intriguing plot lines of the 2026 season. <\/p>\n
The regulation slate may be wiped clean next year, but the same cannot be done for the Norris-Piastri rivalry which carries into next season every piece of baggage accrued this season. <\/p>\n
Given only Norris sips champagne, it\u2019s obvious who will do most of that heavy lifting. <\/p>\n
It should be noted that the most substantial errors that cost Piastri the title in 2025 were his own. <\/p>\n
Piastri upbeat despite title loss | 02:36<\/p>\n
His off-track excursion in Australia cost him at least 16 points \u2014 potentially 23 given he was putting pressure on the leading Norris \u2014 while he had three DNFs; in Baku, and in the sprint races of Brazil and Austin. <\/p>\n
These all might\u2019ve come with varying levels of mitigating circumstances but, ultimately, Piastri had some power to prevent all four blows. <\/p>\n
But what stings more are the times that Piastri was on the wrong side of Papaya Rules, stewards\u2019 rulings, or just dumb luck.<\/p>\n
There was the aforementioned incident in Monza, the Qatar safety car disaster, the impact of the controversial penalty in Silverstone that McLaren did nothing to equalise, and strategy calls in Hungary and Imola that benefited Norris, not Piastri. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s a lengthy rap sheet and, without it, it\u2019s undeniable that Piastri would\u2019ve been world champion, even with the errors of Australia, Azerbaijan, Texas and Brazil. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s why F1 broadcaster Will Buxton described 2025 as a landmark year for Piastri, but one which sparks a big question for the future. <\/p>\n
\u201c(He was) The championship leader and favourite for so much of the tour in just his third season. Could and arguably should have been champion,\u201d Buxton posted to X.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do wonder how the net total of the receipts he will have kept on team decisions will influence his next steps.\u201d <\/p>\n
Piastri leaving McLaren in the wake of the 2025 season is a theoretical that was raised well before Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n
Speaking on the Red Flags podcast, former Haas team boss Guenther Steiner said last month that Piastri should leave, especially if he doesn\u2019t win the title. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think he has a good chance to get in any other good car. He\u2019s a good driver. And change sometimes is good. He\u2019s young enough; he can adapt to it. He should, and I think he will,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
‘Zak could’ve had a little more empathy’ | 01:26<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to see how Piastri clears out of Woking in a hurry even if he wanted to. The 2026 grid is already confirmed in full, with Piastri himself contracted to McLaren until at least 2028. Doors can only open, in theory, the following year. <\/p>\n
Russell and Kimi Antonelli\u2019s continuity at Mercedes beyond 2026 is believed to be tied to performance-related clauses, while the job of being Verstappen\u2019s teammate remains a year-by-year proposition. Isack Hadjar is the latest to test his might against the poisoned chalice. <\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are tied to vague \u201cmulti-year deals\u201d at Ferrari, but given the gruelling year experienced by the former, there\u2019s a world in which the 40-year-old doesn\u2019t see it through.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Aston Martin remains a sleeping giant with drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll not yet guaranteed of spots in 2027. <\/p>\n
Should the team explode into becoming a frontrunner under the guidance of Adrian Newey, then expect drivers to be lining up for a shot. <\/p>\n
Verstappen is one name who has already been heavily linked in recent times amid a period of unrest before the departure of Christian Horner. Now with his key ally Helmut Marko retiring and uncertainty over the preparedness of Ford\u2019s power units, there is the potential for rumblings to remerge should Red Bull struggle under the new regulations. <\/p>\n
Any move would in theory open a spot at Red Bull. But you imagine after a championship-worthy performance, Piastri\u2019s position would also be monitored by Aston Martin should they need a driver. <\/p>\n
Leaving McLaren, of course, would be a massive gamble \u2014 and one that could backfire spectacularly. <\/p>\n
Daniel Ricciardo serves as a notable cautionary tale here. He left Red Bull at the end of 2018, only to see Verstappen become a four-time world champion \u2014 nearly five-time \u2014 before the end of 2025. <\/p>\n
Piastri’s audacious opening move | 00:40<\/p>\n
Ricciardo is now retired from F1 following occasionally great, but mainly middling, stays at Renault, McLaren, and Racing Bulls. <\/p>\n
Nonetheless, when it comes to teammates who lose in a intra-team title battle, F1\u2019s history is simply too harrowing to ignore. The category does not kindly treat the driver that\u2019s been defeated. <\/p>\n
Nico Rosberg serves as the only modern example of a driver winning his own world championship after time served as the team\u2019s conquered. <\/p>\n
Even that took its toll. Rosberg played second fiddle to Hamilton in 2014 and 2015 before narrowly winning in 2016 and promptly retiring. <\/p>\n
Elsewhere, being at Red Bull has ended careers in equal measure with making them. Sergio Perez was turfed out after 2024. Before him at Milton Keynes, Mark Webber never got the better of Sebastian Vettel, who sent the Australian into retirement with four wins of his own. <\/p>\n
Earlier, serving alongside Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen did not lead their teammates to a title-winning future. <\/p>\n
The closest you get in the past 40 years is Alain Prost winning the 1989 world championship in reply to McLaren teammate Ayrton Senna winning in 1988. Even then, the Frenchman was already a world champion by the deeds of his 1985 and 1986. <\/p>\n
And so, are there pastures greener for Piastri? Surely the question at least has to be asked. <\/p>\n
But for the time being, Piastri hinted at the battles of the immediate future being at McLaren, and against Norris, with the pairing set to enter its fourth year together. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been a fun challenge. Obviously at certain points maybe it doesn\u2019t feel that fun but I think it has been a really enjoyable season for both of us probably and I\u2019m saying that as the person who\u2019s not champion,\u201d Piastri said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve learnt plenty of things along the way. Even the last three years I\u2019ve learnt things every weekend from what Lando does and it\u2019s nice to know that it goes both ways.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are plenty of years to come of intense weekends and tight battles but, ultimately, I think that has made both of us better drivers and, in some ways, contributed to the success both of us have had this year.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Oscar Piastri links to Red Bull have resurfaced with a potential move from McLaren said to be the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":341012,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[573],"tags":[944,186512,2074,40760,2095,1724,64,14017,63,689,40761,961,21686,189473,189468,11308,2090,186510,22777,186515,1199,18241,186491,16177,11301,2057,817,845,16236,813,816,20675,653,2105,3552,4405,939,186492,2328,42328,1737,186499,25614,183321,859,825,844,46753,22778,932,849,2041,2067,677,186494,189472,186501,181324,186511,189470,189469,851,2072,189471,11298,3595,85,16276,21769,186493,186505,3370,183306,29994,2614,12000,186514,2753,2086,188819,186503],"class_list":["post-341011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-formula-1","tag-abu-dhabi","tag-active-aerodynamics","tag-adrian-newey","tag-alain-prost","tag-america","tag-asia","tag-au","tag-austin","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-ayrton-senna","tag-azerbaijan","tag-ben-hunt","tag-bias-claims","tag-bittersweet-vindication","tag-brazil","tag-british-broadcasting-corporation","tag-car-disaster","tag-championship-leader","tag-championship-worthy-performance","tag-christian-horner","tag-clive-rose","tag-daring-opening-move","tag-drivers-title","tag-eastern-europe","tag-europe","tag-f1","tag-fernando-alonso","tag-final-race","tag-formula-1","tag-formula1","tag-four-time-world-champion","tag-fox-sports-news","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-guenther-steiner","tag-helmut-marko","tag-hungary","tag-intra-team-title-battle","tag-italy","tag-jacob-polychronis","tag-lando-norris","tag-lengthy-rap-sheet","tag-maiden-world-championship","tag-marina-circuit","tag-mark-webber","tag-max-verstappen","tag-michael-schumacher","tag-mika-hakkinen","tag-mitigating-circumstances","tag-monza","tag-nico-rosberg","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-oceania","tag-pairing-set","tag-piranha-club","tag-plot-lines","tag-race-winner-max","tag-regulation-slate","tag-rich-list","tag-rule-revolution","tag-sebastian-vettel","tag-sergio-perez","tag-shock-paddock-rumour","tag-south-america","tag-southern-europe","tag-sports","tag-sprint-races","tag-strategy-calls","tag-substantial-errors","tag-team-decisions","tag-texas","tag-united-arab","tag-united-arab-emirates","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-western-asia","tag-will-buxton","tag-world-champion","tag-world-championship","tag-world-championship-titles","tag-year-by-year-proposition"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341011\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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