Oscar Piastri to Red Bull, what we know with Max Verstappen F1 swap rumours growing

Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Silly Season

Oscar Piastri to Red Bull, what we know with Verstappen swap rumours growing

Here's what we know about those Piastri and Verstappen seat swap reports

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Thursday 9 July 2026 20:57

Make us your Google favorite

It's very easy for Formula 1 fans to switch off this time of year when the summer break approaches and it becomes increasingly hard to know what to believe where driver transfer rumours are concerned.

This phase of the campaign has been coined 'silly season' in recent years, where it often feels like almost every driver on the grid begins to be linked with just about all 11 teams.

This year could get particularly interesting where driver signings are concerned considering at least half the grid has a contract that is set to expire at the end of the 2026 season.

Article continues under video

But surprisingly, the biggest players in the driver market seem to be the ones who have signed on the dotted line for many more years to come.

Both Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen are contracted to race for McLaren and Red Bull respectively until 2028, but as 2009 F1 champion Jenson Button put it earlier this week: "Money talks."

So how realistic is it to say Piastri and Verstappen are on the brink of a seat swap?

Here's what we know so far.

F1 HEADLINES: FIA boss issues Horner statement as Newey returns to Red Bull

Will Max Verstappen activate early Red Bull contract exit?

Speculation about a seat swap deal between Verstappen and Piastri has mostly come about as a result of Verstappen's performance-based clause which allows him to activate an early exit from anytime between the summer break and October.

Relations between the Dutchman, his personal team and both the Red Bull F1 and Red Bull GmbH management are reportedly getting frostier by the day with the energy drink giants said to be growing frustrated at Verstappen's inability to commit to them long term.

If Verstappen was to leave Red Bull for 2027 however, there aren't many spaces available on the grid when you look at the current contracts held by his rivals on the surface.

Mercedes are yet to officially announce contract extensions for both Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, but all parties involved including team boss Toto Wolff seem to have moved on from the idea of signing Verstappen for now.

Ferrari could be an option for Verstappen if he can hold out until 2028, but even that isn't set in stone with Lewis Hamilton telling his home crowd at Silverstone last weekend: "I'm not going anywhere."

So that leads us to McLaren, who, if you believe everything you read online, have one unhappy driver among their ranks.

Does Oscar Piastri want to leave McLaren?

Zak Brown has continuously shut down reports of a change in driver lineup at McLaren

We are less than two weeks into July, the month of Verstappen's deadline to be in the top two of the championship, and already rumours have run rife about a potential seat swap for Piastri and his Red Bull rival.

Verstappen currently sits way down in P7 in the drivers' standings, so we know that contract clause is ready to be activated, but is there even space for him at McLaren?

First of all, if a driver's management team only enquired about a potential move when they knew a seat had become available, they wouldn't be doing their jobs correctly.

Secondly, reports that Piastri is looking to kickstart an early exit plan of his own are unconfirmed.

GPFans understands both McLaren and Piastri are happy with the partnership, a message which was echoed by Zak Brown in the FIA press conference at last weekend’s British GP.

When asked by media in Silverstone what he could share about the supposed chats McLaren had held with Verstappen and his team, the McLaren Racing CEO replied: "They’re rumours? No conversations."

Further hammering home the party line, Brown continued: "I’m very happy with my two racing drivers, Lando and Oscar, and I think any time a name like Max is thrown around everyone gets pretty excited. Four-time World Champion, but very happy with our driver line-up."

The American then clarified once and for all that if a move to the papaya squad was to happen one day for the 28-year-old, it wouldn't be any time soon.

What has Piastri said about McLaren F1 exit reports?

Amid the reports that it could be Verstappen donning the papaya race suit next season and not Piastri, the Aussie F1 star broke his silence on the speculation before his team's home race at Silverstone.

Ahead of the British GP track action last Friday, Piastri told F1.com that the rumours hadn't impacted him.

"It doesn't really mean much to me. I think Max doesn't need to be spoken about much in terms of his talent.

“I've got a contract in place, multiple reassurances that the team are very happy with me and I'm very happy with the team.

"For me, I'm very happy where I am and very happy with the situation I'm in. Just trying to continue the success that we've had in the last few years.”

READ MORE: McLaren star reveals F1 exit

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

View full biography

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen McLaren Oscar Piastri