'A lot of fiction': Piastri's manager dismisses Verstappen swap rumours

In the wake of persistent speculation and rumour, Oscar Piastri has no intention of leaving McLaren, his manager has said.

Reports of a potential driver swap between McLaren and Red Bull, with Piastri and four-time world champion Max Verstappen to switch teams, have dominated headlines and discussion in F1 circles for weeks.

Piastri, who is on a multi-year deal with McLaren, has denied he is leaving the team, while  team principal Andrea Stella and McLaren CEO Zak Brown have also tried to hose down speculation.

Now Piastri's manager, former F1 driver Mark Webber, has also responded to the rumours that his man could be moving on from McLaren in the near future.

In an interview with RACER, the nine-time grand prix winner said Piastri was focused on being with McLaren and described much of the recent reporting as "nonsense".

"Oscar is contracted to McLaren for the foreseeable future. Talk of him agitating to leave is nonsense," Webber said.

"There has been a lot of fiction written about him and other teams.

"McLaren have repeatedly said they want him for the long term and Oscar is focused on that."

During the British Grand Prix weekend, Piastri said he was committed to McLaren and believed the team was also committed to him moving forward.

"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," the Melburnian said.

Verstappen's future has been a hot topic in F1 all year, with the Dutchman unimpressed with the new era of regulations.

F1's power units promised to produce a near 50-50 split between internal combustion and electrical power, which Verstappen believed was contrary to the essence of F1.

He indicated that he would leave F1, but those rumours appear to have subsided following a tweak of the regulations to increase the internal combustion energy of the current power units, and the FIA president declaring V8 engines would return in 2031.

This season the Dutchman has had mixed results, with Red Bull finding inconsistent success depending on which circuit they are racing on.

After fighting for the win in Barcelona, Verstappen crashed during qualifying in Austria, and then again late in the British Grand Prix while he was running third.

The rear wing on his Red Bull failing to close was blamed for the Austria crash, and Verstappen said in Britain the same issue plagued him again.

"When the rear wing doesn't close fully, you lose a lot of downforce and you spin off the track," he said after the British Grand Prix.

"So, yeah. One time, OK, but two times? This is becoming dangerous for myself. And obviously, I don't want that."

Verstappen is contracted with Red Bull until 2028, but is reported to have a release clause allowing him to explore other options if he is outside the top-two of the drivers' championship at the mid-year break.

Verstappen is currently seventh on 76 points, 78 points adrift of Mercedes driver George Russell in second.

With two grand prix weekends remaining until the mid-year break, Verstappen cannot be in the top two.

F1 next races at the famous Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday, July 19.

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