Oscar Piastri’s McLaren escape route is ‘crystal clear’ if he decides to switch Formula 1 teams

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McLaren driver Oscar Piastri has plenty of admirers in the Formula 1 paddock after a very impressive 2025 campaign.

Oscar Piastri, in an alternative reality, would be entering his third season as an Alpine driver this year.

The Australian delivered a social media bombshell in 2022, announcing that instead he would be driving for McLaren, a decision that has worked brilliantly for both parties.

Piastri is still in contention for the drivers’ championship, even if he has seen his lead evaporate and teammate Lando Norris develop a 24-point advantage with three races to go.

The intra-team battle has been fascinating, and Piastri has addressed his relationship with Norris in a recent interview, giving an insight into how well McLaren are managing this fight internally.

However, Piastri has still been linked with quitting McLaren in the future, with several teams putting the 24-year-old on their shortlist.

Journalist Felix Gorner has now been speaking about Piastri’s McLaren position and thinks that Red Bull chief advisor Helmut Marko’s admiration of the Australian makes his next move in the paddock ‘crystal clear’ if he decides to move on.

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Red Bull chief Helmut Marko a ‘big fan’ of Oscar Piastri if he decides to leave McLaren

Gorner was writing in his column for Sport and talking about Piastri’s position at McLaren.

He said: “Norris is the desired Papaya World Champion, Piastri is the tolerated one. This is a potential source of conflict not only for the last three races, but also for the future.

“There is a rift within the team that is difficult to mend. This rift runs right through between Norris and Piastri. Mark Webber, as Oscar Piastri’s manager, is also fuelling this and conveying it to his protégé.

“This leads to excessive pressure on Piastri, who then approaches things with excessive motivation at times, which did not happen to him in the first half of the season.

“Lando Norris is the more marketable driver at McLaren, but Piastri is definitely one who is just as fast, sometimes even faster than his teammate. If the Australian can keep his nerves under control, he will come back.

“The outlook for a harmonious future at Papaya is bleak. Piastri does have a long-term contract with McLaren, but if things continue with the Papaya rules and the favouritism towards Norris, Piastri will leave the team. That’s crystal clear!

“He would also have alternatives due to his class. We know that Helmut Marko, for example, is also a big fan of Oscar Piastri. So 2026 will be the moment of truth for Papaya in terms of how to manage a team with two drivers of almost equal strength.

“The drivers’ championship battle is not yet decided. Norris has one hand on the World Championship trophy, but many others have despaired and ultimately failed in this endeavour.”

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Marko is not someone who minces his words and recently gave his verdict on the current championship battle.

Speaking to Kleine Zeitung ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix, Marko said: “I think he doesn’t seem to be able to handle the pressure very well.

“At least that’s how it looked recently, even though I don’t know him well enough to say for sure.”

Mark Webber is hoping to help Piastri behind the scenes, in his role as the Australian’s manager, and he knows all about how Marko handles Red Bull’s drivers from his time with the team.

He’s also got experience in an intra-team battle for the championship from his time up against Sebastian Vettel.

The pair now have to work out ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix how to make sure Piastri avoids the same fate as Webber during his championship campaigns.