The Formula 1 paddock thrives on two things: speed and speculation. And in Montreal this weekend, both are swirling around Oscar Piastri.
As uncertainty quietly simmers around Max Verstappen’s long-term future at Red Bull, it has come to light that the Milton Keynes powerhouse has already begun eyeing potential successors. Near the top of that wishlist? McLaren’s cool-headed Australian charger.
While there is no indication that Verstappen is packing his bags tomorrow, the Dutchman’s growing frustration with Formula 1’s 2026 rules era has triggered a frenzy of behind-the-scenes contingency planning.
Red Bull, a team accustomed to building dynasties around dominant drivers, reportedly sees Piastri as the ideal heir should Verstappen walk away – whether that means a shock transfer, a sabbatical, or an outright exit from the sport.
And Piastri? He’s not exactly running from the rumours.
‘It’s flattering’: Piastri responds to Red Bull links
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix paddock, the McLaren driver appeared genuinely surprised by reports connecting him to Red Bull’s future plans – but he certainly didn’t sound offended by the attention.
“It is news to me, yes,” the Australian said. “There's obviously not been any discussions or anything, but it's flattering and there's not really much more than that, really.
“I think, hopefully, it proves my stock as a driver, which is a nice thing, but I'm very happy with where I am. I've got a lot of confidence in this team that we are going to be able to win races and, hopefully, championships in the future, so I'm very happy where I am.”
That response may have cooled the immediate fire, but it won’t stop the intrigue.
Because in Formula 1, compliments often arrive before conversations do.
Piastri’s rapid rise has made him one of the most coveted talents on the grid. Clinical, composed, and brutally fast, the Australian has become central to McLaren’s resurgence – exactly the kind of driver Red Bull would crave if the Verstappen era suddenly cracked open.
McLaren determined to keep its stars
Over at McLaren, there is no sense of panic publicly – only confidence.
CEO Zak Brown has repeatedly insisted the team has no intention of letting its prized driver pairing of Piastri and Lando Norris drift elsewhere. And in comments that now carry even more weight, Brown made it clear he believes McLaren’s environment should be enough to keep rivals circling without success.
“I would imagine there’s not a team on the grid that wouldn’t want to have Oscar and Lando [Norris] driving for them,” he recently told The Athletic.
“My general view, contracts aside, is that 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 contract.’ Yes, we have that anyway, for the record.
“But you don’t want to hold someone because you’ve got 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 to create that environment. I think there’s a lot of talent inside McLaren that other racing teams would like to have.”
Read also: Verstappen offers biggest clue yet on F1 future amid 2027 rule shiftFor now, Piastri remains firmly tied to McLaren through 2027, and publicly at least, both sides appear fully committed.
Still, Formula 1’s driver market has a habit of moving from “impossible” to “inevitable” at terrifying speed.
And if Verstappen’s future becomes even slightly uncertain, don’t expect the Piastri-to-Red Bull rumours to disappear anytime soon.
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