Oscar Piastri breaks silence on trackside split with manager Mark Webber

McLaren F1 star Oscar Piastri has opened up on the step back that fellow Aussie Mark Webber has taken in his management.

Piastri has been managed by former F1 star Webber since 2019, with the former Red Bull racer overseeing Piastri's ascent through F3, F2 and into F1 to challenge for the drivers' championship in 2025.

But after a season in which he missed out on the title by 13 points despite leading it between April-October, it was revealed earlier this week that Webber wouldn't be present at as many race weekends in 2026, instead focusing more on the commercial side of Piastri's career.

Piastri is hoping to become the first Australian F1 world champion since Alan Jones in 1980, something Webber was never able to do despite claiming nine career race victories.

"There wasn't anything specific," Piastri told media at Bahrain pre-season testing about the change in Webber's role. "Just we made a decision for things to look a bit different.

"Mark is still very much involved, and I've been in contact with him a lot over the last few weeks. He just won't be trackside as much anymore."

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Can Piastri challenge for the title in 2026?

Piastri actually ended up finishing third in last year's championship, behind team-mate and eventual champion Lando Norris, and behind four-time world champion Max Verstappen.

Third was the highest that Webber ever managed to finish in the drivers' championship, something which he achieved on three occasions, but at the age of just 24, Piastri will be hoping to go two better in 2026.

His ability to be able to challenge for the title will likely depend on his McLaren team's ability to master the regulation reset, however, with wholesale changes meaning that we could see a shake up in the competitive order between the top four teams.

That can surely only be bad news for the team who won 14 of 24 grands prix last season, with McLaren likely to have more competition for race victories from the likes of Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull.

Time will tell as to which teams and drivers are in the mix for the title, but Piastri will be hoping that his drop off in form in the latter stages of 2025 will have taught him a lot about being in a championship battle with the likes of Norris and Verstappen.

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