The most highly anticipated move of the 2027 Formula 1 driver market might be just around the corner. Currently sixth in the Drivers’ Championship, Oscar Piastri is already considering triggering his exit clause to terminate his contract with McLaren at the end of this season, GRANDE PRÊMIO has learned. And if that indeed happens, the path to signing Max Verstappen will begin to take shape.
The relationship between Piastri and McLaren has been somewhat turbulent from the very beginning. He joined the Woking squad in 2023 following a contract dispute that went all the way to the FIA’s Contract Recognition Board (CRB). This was because Alpine, who held his contract at the time, had previously announced the Australian to fill the seat vacated by Fernando Alonso.
Back then, during the 2022 silly season, Piastri took to social media to deny any agreement with Alpine, and the reason quickly became clear: he already had a deal in place with Zak Brown’s team for the following season. After the FIA ruled the contract legal, Oscar stepped in to partner Lando Norris.
The partnership between Piastri and McLaren reached its peak in 2025, when the Australian led the Drivers’ Championship for 15 of the 24 rounds. However, things began to unravel the moment the papaya team decided to favor Norris at the Italian Grand Prix to make amends for a pit-stop error, stripping Piastri of a second-place finish in the race.
The episode not only unsettled Piastri — who was overtaken in the final stages not just by his teammate, but also by Verstappen, who finished 2025 as the championship runner-up — but it also exposed internal friction between Oscar’s manager, Mark Webber, and the McLaren management. Since then, Webber has been working behind the scenes to find a new seat for Piastri, believing that he will never be the number-one driver at McLaren — something Mark knows all too well from his time alongside Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull.
On the other hand, Verstappen has made his dissatisfaction with F1’s upcoming regulation changes very clear, even speaking openly about the possibility of leaving the category. Despite his growing love for the world of endurance racing, Max drops hints here and there that he will stay. However, life at Red Bull has become increasingly difficult, compounded by a retirement at the British Grand Prix just four laps from the end.
The incident was caused by a mechanical failure — once again involving the rear wing, mirroring what happened during qualifying in Austria, much to the frustration of the #3 driver. Right after the DNF, Max’s father, Jos Verstappen, and his manager, Raymond Vermeulen, were spotted in a serious conversation with Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies. Verstappen’s post-race comments sound like those of someone who sees no way forward, expressing concern over the frequency and consequences of these failures.
With his retirement at the British GP, Verstappen now trails second-placed George Russell by 78 points, with only two rounds remaining before the summer break. As a result, it is no longer possible for him to break into the top two before the shutdown, meaning he can now trigger the exit clause embedded in the contract he signed back in 2022, which runs until the end of 2028, according to information originally reported by the German newspaper Bild.
There is yet another element in the midst of all this: Gianpiero Lambiase, who already has his bags packed for McLaren starting in 2028. The Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported that Red Bull’s Technical Director, Pierre Waché, is no longer sharing detailed technical information regarding car development with the Italian—who, in addition to being Verstappen’s race engineer, is also the team’s Head of Race Engineering.
This is actually a fairly common practice to protect intellectual property once team members are confirmed to be moving to a rival squad; however, it is one more issue that has deeply displeased the Verstappen clan. The publication also reported that a decision regarding the four-time world champion’s future is expected during the summer break, between the Hungarian and Dutch Grands Prix.
With these scenarios combined, the most likely outcome for both is a straight swap. Max would take Piastri’s seat at McLaren, which is still facing reliability issues with its Mercedes power unit but appears to have a car concept with better short-term development potential than the Milton Keynes outfit. Oscar would move to Red Bull as the clear number-one driver, in a deal finely crafted by someone with decades-long ties to the energy drink team.
Formula 1 returns from July 17 to 19 for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, the tenth round of the 2026 season.
