(Motorsport-Total.com) – Oscar Piastri is in Red Bull’s sights. This news was confirmed by several sources in the paddock in Miami over the weekend. But what is behind it? A closer look reveals a puzzle where the individual pieces at least for now move independently of each other.
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It could be a “Plan B” that team principal Laurent Mekies and Red Bull sports director Oliver Mintzlaff want to keep in reserve in case Max Verstappen leaves the team.
The team’s official line remains unchanged: no doubt about Verstappen staying with the team also in 2027. Nevertheless, something is moving in the background. The interest in Piastri fits into this scenario as a strategic option, a kind of insurance for the unlikely but not impossible case of a break or a sudden departure of Verstappen.
In a team with over 2,000 employees, the role of the lead driver is not only a sporting factor but a pivot for technical development, internal stability, and marketing activities. Therefore, it is no longer enough to rely solely on one’s own junior drivers. Isack Hadjar is an investment in the future but not an immediate guarantee.
What role does Mark Webber play in the background?
Since the first winter tests in Bahrain, Mark Webber’s absence at the race track has been noticeable. Piastri’s management remains in the hands of the former driver and Ann Neal. But since this season, he has also had Pedro Matos by his side, an engineer with whom he has already worked at Prema in Formula 2.
Foregoing Webber’s presence at race weekends can therefore be seen as an attempt to simplify internal processes and improve direct communication with the team.
The decision to no longer have Webber at the race tracks was made by Piastri but seemed in many ways like the only possible solution to bring calm back to the relationship with the team.
The goal was achieved: after two rather unlucky races, he was back on the podium in Suzuka and Miami and praised the team for the competitiveness of the update package in Florida. From Piastri’s point of view, everything seems to be running smoothly, and above all, there are no repercussions in his relationship with the team from last year’s season finale.
The restart in winter was perfectly successful. At the same time, Webber may have begun to move on a parallel level and explore alternative possibilities. In this context, a resumption of contacts with Red Bull (his former team) would not be surprising.
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Red Bull rethinks its strategy
To truly understand the significance of these maneuvers, one must consider the most profound change within the team: the departure of Helmut Marko. For more than twenty years, Marko embodied a clear philosophy: develop talents internally and place them alongside an established leader.
A model that worked with Sebastian Vettel, then with Daniel Ricciardo, and finally with Verstappen. The signing of Sergio Perez already represented a first deviation from this scheme in 2021, but more out of necessity than strategic conviction.
With Laurent Mekies at the helm, Red Bull now seems to pursue a more flexible approach, where the external market becomes a structural lever. In this scenario, Piastri appears as an ideal candidate: young but already established, competitive, and with great development potential.
Is a driver swap coming?
At McLaren in Woking, they remain tight-lipped. Piastri has a contract that binds him to the team also for the 2027 season – a situation in which McLaren’s position seems formally unassailable. However, experience shows that contracts in Formula 1 are never absolute barriers.
When a driver expresses a clear desire to switch, there is almost always room for negotiation. In a possible deal, Zak Brown would play a central role in turning a potential difficulty into an economic opportunity.
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Finally, there is the exciting swap scenario, a change in which Piastri would go to Red Bull and Verstappen to McLaren. Apart from some rumors, the current indications only confirm one direction, namely Red Bull’s interest in Piastri.
Moreover, there is no confirmation of the basic prerequisite for such a swap, namely that Verstappen wants to leave for internal team reasons. His recent statements mainly refer to the technical regulations of Formula 1. A factor that would not change by switching to another team.
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