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Oscar Piastri could find himself at the centre of the Formula 1 driver market this season if things don’t go his way at McLaren.
McLaren are hoping to retain both championships going into 2026, despite a complete change in the sport’s regulations.
However, despite leading the drivers’ championship for longer than anybody else last year, Oscar Piastri will not have the number one on his car this season.
Finish the sentence: In 2027, Oscar Piastri will be driving for…
That honour has been bestowed upon Lando Norris, after he pipped his teammate and Max Verstappen to the title.
Piastri is on a long-term deal at McLaren, but that doesn’t guarantee anything in the world of Formula 1.
Heading into this season, it’s already been suggested that Piastri would be the perfect replacement for Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin in 2027.
And now, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has been told what he needs to do to keep his star Australian beyond this year.
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Oscar Piastri ‘will be gone’ from McLaren if Andrea Stella doesn’t change ‘controversial’ papaya rules
Piastri finished 13 points behind Norris in the 2025 drivers’ championship and was still in contention to win the title heading into the final race.
He pulled off a brilliant overtake on Norris on the opening lap, but could never close the gap to Verstappen and was even prepared to sacrifice his position to help his teammate win the championship in case things started to go wrong.
It’s hard to imagine that Piastri will let that happen again, and a report from Blick has shared more details about the 24-year-old’s future.
Piastri will want revenge on Norris this year, but whether that’s possible is going to come down to how aerodynamically brilliant McLaren’s design is and whether Mercedes have the most powerful power unit on the grid.
The report states that if McLaren’s ‘papaya rules’ prevent Piastri from winning the title this season, then ‘he will be gone by 2027’.
It’s worth pointing out that Piastri’s statistics at this stage of his career are up there with some of the greatest drivers in F1 history.
After 70 Grand Prix, Piastri already has nine wins, six pole positions and finishes on the podium in nearly 40% of his race starts.
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Which teams would want to sign Oscar Piastri if he decided to leave McLaren?
Plenty of Formula 1 teams would be lining up to sign Piastri if he decided that he had had enough of McLaren’s internal rules.
It should be said that Piastri appears to be happy with the papaya rules right now, but whether that remains the case throughout 2026 is yet to be seen.
Prove me wrong: Oscar Piastri is the PERFECT CANDIDATE to replace Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin in 2027
As mentioned before, Aston Martin would be a logical landing spot for the Australian if Alonso retires.
Piastri would back himself to be the number one driver at Adrian Newey’s team ahead of Lance Stroll, and with his design genius and Honda’s power unit, they will be a force to be reckoned with sooner rather than later.
The 24-year-old would be an option for Red Bull or Ferrari if either Verstappen or Charles Leclerc decided to move on, while any team in F1’s midfield would jump at the chance to bring Piastri in.
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