Piastri and McLaren: a season to digest before 2026
The Australian driver has been at the center of rumors and opinions after a season marked by dreams and internal tensions at McLaren. Comments from Jacques Villeneuve and Günther Steiner help frame these difficulties not as failures, but as a stage of growth.
Recently, a claim from Juan Pablo Montoya suggested that Oscar Piastri and his manager Mark Webber have been in contact with another team on the grid. A strong statement that naturally sparked debate about the Australian driver’s future.
Whether true or not, several elements support this idea. Looking at the bigger picture, however, the conclusion seems more lateral than direct: rather than a desire to leave, Piastri seems to be seeking a more central role within the McLaren project.
And from this arises the question: what should Oscar Piastri do to achieve this goal? More importantly, how should he restart after a season where he was often in the spotlight, only to lose ground in the decisive phase?
Starting from scratch: Jacques Villeneuve’s perspective
Jacques Villeneuve offers a first answer. The former world champion urges Oscar Piastri to completely forget the past season, a championship he nearly won in his third year in Formula 1 but which inevitably left emotional traces.
“It’s something he’ll need to process over the winter,” Jacques Villeneuve explained to PokerScout. “I hope he arrives at the first test as a completely new man, forgetting this season entirely. He has to start from zero.”
Piastri has often been described as a cold, icy driver, frequently compared to Kimi Räikkönen (the last Ferrari driver to win in 2007). But according to Jacques Villeneuve, that alone is not enough. In Formula 1, character must be strengthened.
“You have to be tough, that’s the point. Outwardly it all looks nice and friendly, but it’s a tough world. This year didn’t work out, and he knows he had that championship in his hands. He was controlling it.”
Talent and context: Günther Steiner’s viewpoint
Villeneuve adds another element: for Oscar Piastri, the disappointment may have been even heavier than Max Verstappen’s, who lost a world title by just two points. For the Australian, the blow was going from championship leader to third in the final standings.
Günther Steiner takes a more pragmatic approach. The former Haas Team Principal has no doubts about Oscar Piastri’s talent but emphasizes that his success also depends on circumstances.
“He has to be in the right car at the right time,” Steiner said on the Red Flags podcast. “Talent-wise, he can do it, no doubt. And if he finds himself in the same situation next year, I think he will win. Let’s not forget it was only his third season in Formula 1.”
Oscar Piastri and the requirements for 2026
Both Villeneuve and Steiner converge on one point: Oscar Piastri is fast and solid, but Formula 1 experience must be understood in a 360-degree perspective. Not just kilometers on track, but also mental management, internal politics, and team dynamics.
In this sense, McLaren’s 2025 season in some ways resembled Mercedes in 2016 with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg: two drivers free to race, without strict “silver rules,” but with all the tensions such a setup entails.
And this may be the central issue. Piastri doesn’t seem to need technical advice or personal revolutions. What he needs is clarity. The “papaya rules” exist to protect the team, not to crown a driver. As long as that principle remains, it will be difficult for anyone to emerge definitively.
To win, Piastri needs real freedom to compete on equal terms. If that does not come, he might be forced to assert himself—a risky move, as challenging the team always has consequences. But it is also a necessary step for anyone aspiring to become more than just a protagonist.
Ultimately, more than signaling an imminent departure, this moment for Oscar Piastri highlights the need to understand whether McLaren is ready to take the next step with him. And this answer, more than any market rumor, will define his future.
In summary, Jacques Villeneuve and Günther Steiner believe that Oscar Piastri must mentally move past his 2025 disappointment and harden his character to secure his place as a championship leader. As McLaren navigates internal tensions and “Papaya Rules,” Piastri’s ability to demand a more central role will be the deciding factor in whether he remains with the team to pursue the 2026 title.
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