The Rumor Mill Spins

Whispers around the paddock suggest Red Bull Racing have their eyes on Oscar Piastri as their top replacement if Max Verstappen walks away. The Australian driver called the reports "flattering" but made it clear: he knows nothing about it. It's news to him. No calls, no meetings, no secret handshakes in the shadows. Just noise from the stands.

Verstappen's contract runs until 2028, but performance clauses exist. If he's not in the top two of the Drivers' Championship by the summer break, he could be free to leave. He's currently seventh with six races before the August recess. The seven-time champion has already cast doubt on his future, hinting that rule changes for 2027 might be needed to keep him in the sport.

Piastri Plants His Feet

When asked in Montreal about the speculation, Piastri didn't blink. "It is news to me, yes," he said. "There's obviously not been any discussions or anything but it's flattering, yes. There's not really much more than that, really." He added that the attention proves his stock as a driver, which is nice, but he's very happy where he is. He's got confidence in McLaren to win races and hopefully championships in the future.

His own contract runs until at least the end of 2028. In an interview with Sky Sports F1, he was blunt: "I've got a good relationship with McLaren, so why change?"

McLaren's Fortress Mentality

McLaren have both Piastri and world champion teammate Lando Norris signed to long-term deals. Team chief executive Zak Brown told The Athletic that interest from rivals wouldn't surprise him. "I would imagine there's not a team on the grid that wouldn't want to have Oscar and Lando driving for them," Brown said.

But his goal isn't just to hold contracts. It's to create an environment where drivers don't want to leave. "You don't want to hold someone because you've got a piece of paper," Brown explained. "You want them to go, 'This is the team I want to race with, the team I want to be on, the team I want to be a mechanic on, the team I want to sponsor.' That's what I want to do."