Oscar Piastri has provided further explanation regarding the current situation surrounding manager Mark Webber. Rumors of a rift between the former Formula 1 driver and Piastri’s team McLaren were circulating when it became known that Webber would take a step back for 2026. According to Piastri, there is no truth to that, and his compatriot’s new role in his career is part of ‘a natural development’.
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Oscar Piastri has been assisted by his compatriot and manager Mark Webber since before his Formula 1 debut. The former Formula 1 driver played a key role in, among other things, Piastri’s controversial departure from Alpine in 2022 and his arrival at McLaren. Webber was also often by his side during Piastri’s first title fight in 2025, but took a step back prior to the current season.
Rumors of tensions between Webber and McLaren were circulating, but Piastri already contradicted the speculations to the media in Bahrain. In a conversation with Fox Sports, Piastri further explains the current situation regarding Webber. The Australian confirms once again that the former Formula 1 driver is certainly still involved in his career, but that due to his gained experience, he now wants to stand more on his own two feet.
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‘Natural development’
“I am gaining more and more experience in my own career, and it is also because I simply have more experience, which allows me to make some of these decisions myself and ask some of these questions myself,” the McLaren driver adds. “Especially in the first few years, there were many questions that hadn’t even occurred to me, but that Mark asked as if they were obvious to me and the team. I think some of those questions now come to me much more naturally. It’s actually just a natural development.”
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