Oscar Piastri replacing Sergio Perez at Red Bull: deal “is not impossible” according to former F1 driver. Christian Fittipaldi feels a partnership between Oscar Piastri and Red Bull is not so unlikely.

Rumors of a driver market shake-up (for now)
Oscar Piastri replacing Sergio Perez at Red Bull: a possible deal, according to Christian Fittipaldi. The former Brazilian driver, who raced in Formula 1 from 1992 to 1994 and is better known as the nephew of the two-time world champion, believes that there are the right conditions for the deal to happen, considering the excellent results achieved by the Australian in his second year at McLaren and the poor performance of the Mexican in recent months.

Despite his two victories in 2024 and fourth place in the drivers’ championship, the Woking team, mainly due to the standings, has been forced to focus more on Lando Norris, with Oscar Piastri relegated to the role of a luxury second driver.

And it’s precisely for this reason that, according to Christian Fittipaldi, the Australian might consider looking elsewhere at the end of the season: “At the end of the year, I don’t see it as impossible for Piastri to replace Perez at Red Bull next year.” – he revealed – “Piastri might be a bit tired of the situation at McLaren and say, ‘Thank you for the help, but I need to think about myself.'”

Last January, Oscar Piastri signed a multi-year renewal, which will tie him to the papaya team at least until 2026, although, as the Daniel Ricciardo case has shown, contracts in Formula 1 are often not insurmountable obstacles. Another element that could push the 23-year-old from Melbourne toward Milton Keynes lies in his relationship with manager Mark Webber, one of the first drivers to represent Red Bull’s colors from 2006 to 2013.

“Oscar is managed by my old teammate Mark Webber, and we’ve seen how he brought him to McLaren,” said Eddie Jordan a few months ago – “Don’t be surprised if there’s a seat available at Red Bull, obviously where Mark used to be; don’t be surprised if in the future his name comes up publicly.” – he added.

For now, these are just speculations and nothing concrete, but the 2024 Formula 1 season has already accustomed us to several driver market twists, and who knows what might happen in a few months.