Oscar Piastri has a perfect opportunity to become the main man at Red Bull if Max Verstappen leaves

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Oscar Piastri could find himself in pole position to replace Max Verstappen if the Dutchman decides to leave Red Bull.

Over the last few months, one of the major talking points within the Formula 1 paddock has been the future of Verstappen.

Although he committed his future to Red Bull for 2026 and has a contract until 2028, it has been reported that Verstappen could walk away from the sport at the end of the current campaign.

It has been well documented that Verstappen is not a fan of the current regulations, having likened them to ‘Mario Kart’ while claiming his car was ‘undriveable’.

With Verstappen’s future up in the air, Red Bull could already be looking around to see who they want as the Dutchman’s replacement.

One of the names under consideration by the Milton Keynes-based outfit could well be Piastri, who has been linked with a move away from McLaren.

What do you expect from Oscar Piastri in the 2026 F1 season?

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The Australian was left frustrated on multiple occasions during the 2025 campaign as he saw his teammate Lando Norris win the F1 world title.

Following incidents in Monza and Singapore, McLaren were accused of favouring Norris over Piastri, which they denied.

During last month’s Japanese Grand Prix, we saw the best of Piastri as he controlled the early parts of the race before he was negatively impacted by the safety car. 

READ MORE: McLaren may have boxed themselves into ‘a corner’ with design choice for Oscar Piastri’s F1 car

What has Oscar Piastri said about moving to Red Bull?

Back in 2024, Piastri was asked about moving to Red Bull after Helmut Marko claimed Mark Webber was ‘intensively seeking conversation’.

In response, Piastri said: “I think we all know that Helmut says a lot of things in the press. As far as I’m aware there’s no truth to it.

“I’m very, very happy where I am. The team have supported me massively since I came into F1, they gave me my opportunity in F1. At the moment in the standings, we’re in a very happy place, so I am more than happy with where I am at the moment.”

Meanwhile, Verstappen has previously labelled Piastri as a ‘great F1 driver’ and urged him to never settle for being the number two in a team.

As per Autosport, he said in October 2024: “For me he’s definitely not a [number two driver] and if I was him I would never accept it. 

“He’s just a great F1 driver who doesn’t deserve it to give up wins and positions and play second fiddle because he’s asked to.”

Oscar Piastri ‘looking to join’ Red Bull ahead of 2027 season

Back in December 2025, it was rumoured that Piastri could be looking to join Red Bull for 2027.

F1 journalist Rebecca Clancy said on the Inside the Piranha Club podcast: “What about this relationship between the drivers, because there were a lot of rumours about Piastri. We know that both McLaren drivers are signed on multi-year contracts; they never tell us exactly how long.

“Piastri’s contract is thought to the end of 2028; however, there were a lot of rumours in the paddock over the weekend that Piastri was looking to join Red Bull from 2027.”

With Verstappen considering his future and rumours of Piastri looking to join Red Bull, all things point towards a potentially huge transfer deal ahead of the 2027 season.