The possibility of a future move by Oscar Piastri from McLaren to Red Bull Racing has gained traction in the Formula 1 paddock, and Zak Brown addressed the rumors involving the Australian. The CEO of the British team stated that McLaren’s focus is to create an environment where their drivers do not feel the desire to look for another team.
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These speculations arose amid doubts about Max Verstappen’s future at Red Bull. The four-time world champion has shown dissatisfaction with the current F1 technical regulations and has previously indicated that he does not intend to continue competing until an older age, as Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton have done.
Verstappen’s contract with Red Bull runs until the end of 2028, the season in which the Dutchman will be 31 years old. However, there is a performance clause in the agreement that may allow his departure before the official end of the contract.
According to some information released, Verstappen may leave the team if he is not in a certain position in the championship by the category’s mid-season break this year. For 2025, the requirement was to be among the top three, while for 2026 the requirement will be to occupy one of the top two positions to remain automatically in 2027.
With the possibility of an open seat in the future, Piastri’s name has been pointed out as a potential replacement. The Australian is managed by Mark Webber, a former Red Bull F1 driver himself, a factor that further fueled rumors about a possible approach.
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Brown, however, made it clear that he believes in the strength of McLaren’s project to retain its top talents: “I imagine there isn’t a team on the grid that wouldn’t want to have Oscar and Lando (Norris) driving for them,” he told The Athletic.
The executive explained that contracts are important but emphasized that the main goal is to offer a competitive and attractive environment for drivers, staff, and sponsors: “Our job is to create an environment where our drivers don’t want to race anywhere else. The same goes for our staff and sponsors,” he added.
Brown also reinforced that he prefers to keep people on the team because of the quality of the project, not just contractual obligations: “You don’t want to hold someone just because you have a piece of paper. You want the person to say: ‘This is the team I want to race for.’ I think there is a lot of talent within McLaren that other teams would like to have,” he concluded.
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