Red Bull Targets Oscar Piastri as Max Verstappen Replacement
Multiple sources confirmed in the Miami paddock that Red Bull has identified the McLaren driver as its “Plan B” — a contingency for the increasingly plausible scenario in which Verstappen walks away from Formula 1.
Red Bull Racing has identified Oscar Piastri as the driver it would pursue if Max Verstappen leaves the team — a scenario that, while not imminent, is now being taken seriously enough inside Milton Keynes to have generated a concrete shortlist. Multiple sources in the Miami Grand Prix paddock confirmed the plan to Motorsport.com, describing Piastri as Red Bull’s clear preference should Verstappen choose to switch teams, take a sabbatical, or walk away from Formula 1 entirely. Team principal Laurent Mekies and head of motorsport Oliver Mintzlaff are understood to have signed off on the contingency. It represents a significant strategic shift for a team whose driver philosophy has traditionally been built entirely around its own junior programme.
Why Verstappen’s Future Is Genuinely Uncertain
Verstappen is contracted to Red Bull for the 2027 season and the team publicly insists that remains the working assumption. But the four-time world champion’s private and public comments throughout 2026 have made the paddock take the possibility of his departure seriously. After Japan, he described his state of mind to the BBC in terms that were striking for a driver at the peak of his career: “I think I’m committing 100 per cent and I’m still trying. But the way that I am telling myself to give it 100 per cent, I think, is not very healthy at the moment because I am not enjoying what I’m doing.”
His frustration is directed primarily at the 2026 regulations, which he has called “anti-racing and Formula E on steroids.” Verstappen’s discomfort with the heavy emphasis on battery energy management — irrespective of the car he is in — has led to speculation that a switch of team would not address his fundamental concerns. He has simultaneously been building his programme at the Nurburgring Nordschleife ahead of the 24 Hours in May, a project widely interpreted as contingency-building beyond Formula 1.
- Contracted to Red Bull through 2027, but reportedly holds a performance exit clause
- Exit clause: can leave if not within the top two of the championship by the summer break
- Currently seventh in the standings, 54 points behind championship leader Antonelli
- Race engineer Giampiero Lambiase confirmed for McLaren in 2028 — a significant relationship loss
- Described current situation as “not healthy” and “not enjoying what I’m doing” after Japan
- ESPN sources suggest sabbatical is his most likely outcome if he leaves, not retirement
Why Piastri Fits — and Why Red Bull Is Changing
The Piastri plan reflects a broader philosophical evolution at Red Bull under Mekies, who replaced the long-serving structure around Helmut Marko following his departure. For decades, Red Bull’s driver model was clear: develop champions internally, pair an established leader with an up-and-coming junior, and resist the open market. Hiring Sergio Perez — a commercial and national necessity rather than a sporting first choice — was the first notable exception. Mekies is understood to be openly more willing to go outside the programme when the calibre of external option justifies it.
Piastri fits the profile precisely. At 25, he is young enough to anchor a team for the better part of a decade. His racecraft has matured sharply across the 2025 and 2026 seasons — back-to-back podiums in Japan and Miami followed an opening to the year disrupted by reliability failures at McLaren. He is not a development project; he is a proven race winner whose best years are ahead of him. And while Isack Hadjar carries the team’s internal hopes for the future, Red Bull’s leadership is clear-eyed that a 20-year-old cannot yet be the cornerstone on which a 2,000-person organisation is stabilised.
“In this scenario, Piastri stands out as the ideal candidate: young but remarkably solid, highly competitive, and with further potential yet to be unlocked.”
— Motorsport.com, citing multiple paddock sources
The Mark Webber Factor
One of the most discussed subplots in the Piastri story is the role of his manager, Mark Webber — a former Red Bull driver who raced for the team from 2007 to 2013 and retains deep relationships across the organisation. Webber did not attend pre-season testing in Bahrain this year, an absence that paddock observers noted, and was replaced trackside by Pedro Matos, Piastri’s former F2 engineer at Prema. Piastri downplayed any suggestion of a falling-out, describing the arrangement as a deliberate decision reflecting his growing independence. Not everyone in the paddock accepted that at face value.
Verstappen to McLaren, Piastri to Red Bull. Discussed by multiple analysts, including Ralf Schumacher on Sky Sports Germany. Currently no evidence McLaren has any interest in Verstappen — and his frustrations with the formula itself would not be solved by a team change.
Verstappen steps back for a year, Piastri joins Red Bull. ESPN sources suggest this is the most likely exit path if Verstappen does leave. A sabbatical would allow him to preserve F1 options while pursuing endurance racing and other interests.
Verstappen leaves F1 altogether. Considered less likely by most insiders, but not dismissed. FIA president Ben Sulayem has publicly stated he does not believe Verstappen will leave. The 2026 season’s remaining trajectory — particularly after the planned regulation tweaks — may be decisive.
McLaren’s Position — and Piastri’s
Piastri is contracted to McLaren through 2027, with some reports suggesting an extension through 2028. He has given no public indication of wanting to leave a team where he has just scored back-to-back podiums and appears to be on a strong upward curve. When asked in Miami about Verstappen’s future, he was measured: “It would be a shame if Verstappen left. Clearly, the Red Bull doesn’t look like the most competitive car at the moment, but the regulations are being worked on.”
For McLaren CEO Zak Brown, the scenario is not without precedent. The Motorsport.com report noted that if Piastri’s desire to leave ever became clear, Brown would be positioned to convert a difficult situation into a significant financial opportunity — a euphemism for a transfer fee. Piastri’s contract would not be an insurmountable obstacle; it would be a negotiating instrument. For now, none of that is active. But the fact that Red Bull has named its contingency, and that multiple sources were willing to confirm it in the Miami paddock, is itself a signal of how seriously the team is stress-testing a future without the man who has defined it for the past five years.