Oscar Piastre: Reportedly ‘flattering’ Red Bull’s first choice as McLaren driver Max Verstappen replacement | F1 News

Oscar Piastri has described as “flattering” reports that Red Bull have identified him as their No.1 target for Max Verstappen to leave the team – but says it comes as news to him.

A report from Autosport During the race break between Miami and the Canadian Grands Prix, Red Bull suggested that McLaren’s Piastre should leave Verstappen at the end of the season as their ‘Plan B’.

Verstappen’s contract at Red Bull runs until the end of the 2028 campaign but is understood to contain a performance clause which would allow the Dutchman, who has been repeatedly linked with a move to Mercedes, to exit earlier in certain circumstances.

It is understood he could leave at the end of the season, for example, if he is outside the top two in the drivers’ championship by the summer break. He currently sits seventh with six races to go before the August break.

Verstappen has expressed doubts since the start of the season – which ushered in a new era of car and engine regulations – whether he will continue in F1 next year, and Cleaned up over the weekend in Montreal Persuading him to stay may require a 2027 rule change.

Piastre’s own McLaren contract runs until at least the end of 2028 but, asked about Red Bull’s proposed interest in Canada whether they needed a Verstappen replacement, the Australian driver said: “That’s news to me, yes.

“Obviously there’s been no discussion or anything but it’s flattering, yeah. Nothing more, really.

“Hopefully it proves my stock as a driver, which is a nice thing, but I’m very happy with where I’m at.

“I’ve got a lot of confidence in this team that we’ll be able to win races and hopefully the championship in the future, so I’m very happy where I’m at.”

During the interview with Dr Sky Sports F1Piastri added: “I’ve got a good relationship with McLaren, so why change?”

Brown was not surprised by the interest in McLaren drivers

McLaren Piastre and world champion teammate Lando Norris have both signed long-term contracts.

Walking team chief executive Jack Brown said interest in either of the rivals would not surprise him.

“I would imagine there’s not a team on the grid that doesn’t want Oscar and Lando driving for them,” Brown said. athletic.

“My general view, contracts aside, (is) our job is to create an environment where our drivers don’t want to drive anywhere else, or for that matter, our employees or our sponsors don’t want to sponsor another team.

“My job – our job – is to create an environment where you go, ‘Well, you’ve got a deal.’” Yes, we have that, for the record.

“But you don’t want to hold someone back because you have a piece of paper, 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, try and create that atmosphere. I think there’s a lot of talent inside McLaren that other racing teams want to have.”

McLaren endured a disappointing weekend in Canada as the decision to start both their drivers on intermediate tires threw strong starting positions to third for Norris and fourth for Piastre, with the team failing to materialize due to rain.

Norris then retired with a gearbox problem, while Piastre finished one place after earning a penalty for a collision with Williams’ Alex Albon in the 11th point.

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