Papaya fans: I hate to say it, but the sad truth is that McLaren has gone from winning the constructor’s championship back to back to barely being mentioned by commentators this season. Don’t get me wrong - I consistently cheer for Lando Norris on race weekends and loved watching 2025’s tense teammate battles. However, the team’s success has objectively decreased this season, and the drivers’ careers and perceptions are being affected. My hot take? Oscar Piastri needs to leave the British team whenever possible.
Unfortunately, Piastri is not facing a contract renewal too soon, but he may be able to get out of it due to specific circumstances surrounding this season. According to ESPN, Piastri extended his initial McLaren contract to the end of 2026 during his first season, and recently agreed to stay beyond that date in March of last year. Based on the way the team treated him last season, his performances this year, and recent drama with his manager, there are plenty of reasons for Piastri to leave and find a seat elsewhere.
“Papaya rules” is a trigger word for any F1 fans that watched last season’s grands prix. In case you’re new here, this is the strategy that McLaren employed throughout the season to make calls about driver behavior. As a Lando fan, I can claim without bias that the majority of these calls favored Norris rather than Piastri, and OP81 fans were going through the trenches last year when Piastri ended up losing the championship by only 13 points. Over the past few years, including this season, it has become evident that McLaren prioritizes Norris over Piastri whenever conflict arises within the team, whether on track or behind the scenes. If Piastri feels that the treatment he’s receiving from his team is unfair, he may be able to cut ties and find a new seat for the upcoming seasons.
Oscar Piastri looking dejected at the end of last season - buckle up buddy, 2026 is going to be even worse! Photo courtesy of Motorsport Week.
Compared to last season’s close third place finish, Piastri is currently 7th in the runnings with a total of 152 points. By this time last year, he had accumulated 366 points, a shocking difference. Kimi Antonelli has already claimed the drivers’ championship and Mercedes ran away with the constructors’ trophy, meaning that all remaining races are just competing for places below first. McLaren is currently ranked 4th in points, and who knows how much ground they can make up with only three races remaining. The past two years have been celebratory for the British team, but this season is likely one they want to forget about. If Piastri is unhappy with the sudden lack of success, he may seek out an open spot at another team, even if it is smaller or less-funded. Teams like Racing Bulls or Audi have been having surprising success recently, and would maybe consider reaching out to Piastri if he wanted to boost their teams. Additionally, drivers at top teams like George Russell at Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari have been facing difficulty compared to their thriving teammates, and these situations could lead to a potential drivers swap between competitive teams!
The other huge headline that impacts Piastri’s future at McLaren is his recent split with his management team. Recent news detailed that Piastri has officially separated from Mark Webber after this past weekend in Brazil, a partnership that has stood since Piastri first signed with McLaren. F1 reporters describe the termination as mutual and foreseeable, as the move has apparently been a long time coming as Piastri dives deeper into his racing career. A transition of management may go hand in hand with a change of scenery team-wise, but only time will tell.
This is an unprompted and totally speculative take, but do you think that Oscar Piastri would leave McLaren for another team? Let me know on Instagram at @thewinningformulablog, and thanks for reading!
Lights out and away we go,
Lucy xx
