F1 | Could Max Verstappen join McLaren? Mark Webber-Oscar Piastri situation raises questions. Speculation grows over Max Verstappen potentially joining McLaren.

F1 | Webber clashes with McLaren: is the path open for Verstappen in place of Piastri?

With an ever-growing number of former key Red Bull Racing figures making the move to McLaren, bringing Max Verstappen into the team would represent the ultimate statement signing for CEO Zak Brown. In this scenario, Oscar Piastri appears to be the main candidate who could make room for such a blockbuster arrival.

Rob Marshall, Will Courtenay, and soon also Gianpiero Lambiase: all of them have played (or are still playing) fundamental roles in Red Bull’s success alongside Max Verstappen, before securing highly lucrative contracts at McLaren. It is therefore becoming increasingly logical that Verstappen’s name is now being linked with the Woking-based team, even though it would not necessarily have been his first choice should he decide to leave Red Bull.

Zak Brown has long been an admirer of Verstappen, as he has stated on multiple occasions over recent years. Furthermore, the Dutch driver’s salary would not be an issue: McLaren is controlled by Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat Holding Company, with an estimated value of 17.6 billion dollars. An annual figure in the region of 70 million dollars to match Verstappen’s current Red Bull salary would be fully sustainable for the organisation.

Which McLaren driver would have to leave?

The only real “problem” for McLaren is that both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are tied to long-term contracts. Norris is the reigning world champion and appears to be the team’s reference driver, even if McLaren officially denies this perception. It is, however, a view shared by Piastri himself and, in particular, by his manager Mark Webber.

In recent years, Webber was present at almost every Grand Prix inside McLaren’s hospitality unit to support his protégé. This season, however, he has been noticeably absent on most occasions. Officially, the explanation is that Piastri is now experienced enough to make decisions independently.

Has the relationship between Webber and McLaren cooled?

However, it increasingly appears that the relationship between Webber and McLaren has cooled, also due to the perception that Oscar Piastri is being treated as a secondary driver within the team hierarchy. As a result, it is suggested that Webber is exploring alternatives for his compatriot, ideally a team where the Australian driver could establish himself as the undisputed number one.

If Max Verstappen were indeed to leave Red Bull and join McLaren, the Austrian team could ironically become the most logical destination for Oscar Piastri, as part of an attempt to rebuild and relaunch its sporting project around a new leading driver.