Mark Webber instantly backtracks on claims Oscar Piastri is ready to swap seats with Max Verstappen

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Mark Webber immediately backtracked upon teasing that Oscar Piastri might join Red Bull if Max Verstappen were to go to McLaren, with both drivers’ futures now unclear.

The F1 driver market for the 2027 grid could be about to explode, as Verstappen is now able to break his contract for Red Bull through 2028 early. After his race-ending spin in Sunday’s British Grand Prix, it is now a mathematical certainty that his release clause will be available.

It is widely known that Verstappen only needs to rank outside the top two in the F1 drivers’ standings at the 2026 summer break for his exit clause to become active. The 28-year-old is currently only seventh with a 78-point deficit to second with two rounds to go to the break.

Which team should Oscar Piastri join if he leaves McLaren?

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Mark Webber backtracks after saying ‘who knows?’ to Oscar Piastri replacing Max Verstappen

And it appears that Piastri could be the immediate victim of Verstappen having from August until October to trigger his release clause. Reports even now suggest that a deal is nearly in place for Verstappen to join McLaren with a three-year contract as Lando Norris’ teammate.

READ MORE: The best moments of Oscar Piastri’s career in Formula 1

According to F1-Insider, the money that Verstappen would want to join McLaren ‘would not be a problem’, either, given their ‘powerful’ sponsors along with their majority shareholders from Bahrain, thus creating a chance for the team to exploit the ‘tense’ situation at Red Bull.

Verstappen’s situation is now ‘increasingly critical’ for Red Bull after his race-ending crash at Silverstone. Also, several key figures have left and more are set to depart, such as Gianpiero Lambiase who will join McLaren no later than 2028 – and Verstappen seems likely to follow.

It has long been suggested that should Verstappen join McLaren, then Piastri could move to Red Bull and fill the four-time champion’s void. F1-Insider even suggests that Piastri appears ‘ready’ to replace Verstappen, to which Webber initially reacted by claiming “Who knows?”

But former Red Bull driver Webber, who acts as Piastri’s manager, immediately backtracked on his claim, as the Australian quickly added: “The media are wrong.” It has been suggested that Piastri’s McLaren contract contains an exit clause tied to him being outside the top five in the drivers’ standings at the 2026 summer break, and the 25-year-old currently sits sixth.

Norris ranks directly in front of Piastri in fifth place and he has a 15-point advantage over his papaya pal with two rounds to play before the summer break. The situation in the standings has even seen claims emerge that Piastri is considering terminating his contract at McLaren.

Should Piastri want to leave McLaren, and his release clause stays available, the Australian’s exit would free the Woking natives to finalise any move for Verstappen. So, it remains to be seen what Piastri achieves in Belgium and Hungary, given that Verstappen’s clause is in play.