Oscar Piastri has provided clarification on changes within his personal team for 2026. Australian sources had earlier reported that manager Mark Webber is stepping back and will be less present at race weekends. McLaren reportedly pushed for this after tensions between the team and the former F1 driver; Webber was said to have fuelled rumours that Lando Norris receives preferential treatment within the team.
Piastri denied those speculations to the media in Bahrain, although he confirmed that Webber will play a less prominent role during Grands Prix. The Australian, who won nine races with Red Bull between 2009 and 2012, will now focus more on commercial matters. Piastri himself will work more closely with Pedro Matos, his former race engineer from Formula 2.
Webber remains ‘closely involved’
“There was nothing specific going on; we simply decided to divide the roles a little differently,” Piastri explained when asked about the changes. “Mark is still closely involved and I’ve had a lot of contact with him over the past few weeks. He will just be less often at the track. That’s basically it.” With that he decisively dismissed the rumours.
After the second test week in Bahrain, Piastri is looking ahead to the season opener in Melbourne, which is also a home race for the young Australian. “It has certainly been a learning process,” he said of the recent tests. “There are still things we as drivers need to do that are really different to last year. But I think we’re getting better at adapting to the new driving style. There is definitely improvement, though it remains an adjustment,” he added with a laugh. “It’s obvious we’ve all found a bit more pace, and that makes driving a lot more enjoyable. Let’s wait and see how we go in Melbourne.”
F1 calendar for 2026
