Oscar Piastri has two ‘key’ concerns about Ferrari as he weighs up leaving McLaren in 2027

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Oscar Piastri is under contract at McLaren through 2028 and also fought for the title in 2025, yet he is now heavily being linked with a move to Ferrari for the 2027 F1 season.

The F1 driver market is set to explode next year with an array of stars out of contract or able to break their deals to move freely around the grid for 2027. Piastri is in the group of drivers who can end their contracts early, despite McLaren signing him to a new deal back in March.

McLaren gave Piastri a £28m a year contract to tie the 24-year-old down ahead of the 2025 season. It proved to be a very shrewd move by the Woking natives, as well, as the Australian went on to get seven Grand Prix wins, six pole positions and 16 podiums over the 24 rounds.

Piastri also led the F1 drivers’ standings for 189 days, which was the most by anyone, but he finished 13 points behind McLaren teammate Lando Norris and 11 behind Red Bull star Max Verstappen. The Melbourne native paid the price for his woes in the second half of the year.

Ferrari’s ‘chronic problems’ concern Oscar Piastri as he considers leaving McLaren

A lot of Piastri’s problems in the second half of the 2025 F1 season can be traced back to the Italian Grand Prix in round 16 this September. McLaren told Piastri to give Norris back P2 at Monza, having undercut his teammate who they told would stay ahead if he pitted second.

READ MORE: Every F1 driver’s final radio message of 2025, as Lando Norris won the title

Finish the sentence: In 2027, Oscar Piastri will be driving for…

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Then, Piastri crashed in qualifying in Baku, before jumping the start and crashing out of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. He also struggled to get over Norris making contact in Singapore and caused the crash that took both McLaren pilots out of the F1 Sprint at the United States GP.

Now, FunoAnalisiTecnica reports that Piastri also felt Norris received more support from the McLaren mechanics. So, the 24-year-old is considering his future in Woking, and Ferrari are the ‘most talked about’ landing spot should he want to break his contract to move in 2027.

But Piastri has two ‘key’ concerns about Ferrari that are playing on his mind while weighing up whether to honour his contract at McLaren. He is sceptical about the Scuderia’s ‘chronic problems’, along with the uncertainties about their car created for the 2026 F1 regulations.

The 2026 F1 regulations are set to play a major role in the driver market

F1 will introduce the biggest overhaul of the technical regulations thus far next season, with new engine, chassis, aerodynamic and tyre rules. Mercedes are widely expected to have the best 2026 F1 rules engine, which puts the burden on McLaren to deliver with their new car.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about the 2026 F1 engine and aero regulations

McLaren will continue to buy engines from Mercedes until 2030, but Piastri could jump ship if he does not feel valued there in 2026. But concerns are rife about Ferrari’s 2026 F1 rules engine, which could be costly given the expected importance that the power units will hold.

Ferrari stopped developing their 2025 car this April to prioritise their wind tunnel resources on their package for the 2026 rules. McLaren also stopped developing their 2025 car in July to focus on next season, when Red Bull and Audi will also both have their own power units.

Charles Leclerc fears one team could dominate F1 for “four years” if they get the 2026 rules right straight away, with the first seven rounds of next season likely to show who got it right and wrong. Piastri will likely watch how Ferrari fare very closely as he weighs up his future.