'I trust them': Piastri shrugs off Verstappen rumours
Oscar Piastri has brushed off fresh rumours linking Max Verstappen to his seat at McLaren.
The F1 rumour mill was once again sent into overdrive by reports members of Verstappen’s team had held meetings with McLaren chief executive Zak Brown.
Oscar Piastri has brushed off rumours Max Verstappen wants his McLaren seat. Getty Images
While rumours earlier in the season suggested a straight swap between Verstappen and Piastri was on the cards, those talks had gone quiet in the Silverstone paddock ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix.
“For me, it doesn’t mean much,” Piastri said of the meetings per RacingNews365.
“Obviously, Max is the talent he is and is looking around. I’m very happy with where I am. I’ve been told multiple times the team are happy with me, and I trust them.”
Speaking in F1’s official press conference, teammate and reigning world champion Lando Norris suggested it should be flattering for the McLaren team a driver of Verstappen’s calibre wants in, but also dismissed the rumours as “not a serious thing”.
“To be honest, a lot of drivers want to come to McLaren – I don’t know why you just highlight Max,” he said tongue-in-cheek.
“There are quite a few others that I know that want to come as well. I mean, it’s a cool thing. It’s a good thing that a four-time world champion wants to come on board and wants to potentially join the team. I don’t know how much of it’s true, but it’s a cool thing.
“If there’s an opportunity for me to drive with other people, it’s something I’ve always looked forward to. But it’s not a thing for now. It’s not a serious thing.
“I’m also just excited for my future with McLaren. I’m still going to be here for many, many more years, so excited for whoever I get partnered with. But for the time being, me and Oscar are working very well together, and we’re excited to work together for more years too. So that’s our focus for now.”
Norris went on to say he believed he could beat Verstappen in identical machinery.
“I do believe I can beat any driver, (but) what makes Max so incredible is how he is over the course of the season, every single weekend, performing to the level that he does is what’s impressive,” he said.
Norris and Piastri driving a two-seater go-kart ahead of the British Grand Prix. Getty Images
“I think a lot of drivers on the grid can go out and get a pole and can put in incredible laps. What makes people great and elite is performing at that level but in every practice, every qualifying, every race. And I think that’s something that Max is able to do probably better than almost everyone.
“I believe whether it’s him or having a chance to go against Lewis (Hamilton) or Fernando (Alonso), any of the people, the drivers that people know are some of the best, I think it’s a cool opportunity for me.
“At the same time, I’m excited for whatever may come my way in the future.”
New qualifying rules floated after Verstappen crash
Williams driver Carlos Sainz is set to propose new qualifying rules which would see drivers who cause yellow or red flags, which affect other drivers, hit with a grid penalty.
Last time out in Austria, Verstappen crashed at the second last corner during the final runs. Mercedes gun George Russell still managed to take a controversial pole despite having to slow down slightly for the single waved yellow flag.
While Russell followed the rules by the book, many in the paddock believe Verstappen’s crash should have been worthy of at least a double-waved yellow flag, which immediately deletes the lap time of any driver who passes through it.
“It’s clear to me, at least, that the situation should have been a double yellow or a red,” Sainz – one of four directors of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, effectively the drivers’ union – said per Autosport.
“The way George handled it, I think, was perfect for what the rule book allows you to do, and he deserved that pole position because he played the rules to perfection. But I don’t think it should ever have been allowed to finish that lap, or to complete a lap in that kind of dangerous situation.
“At the same time, if Max had been on pole after the first runs and then produced that crash, and there was a red flag and no one improved their lap, I think it would be unfair on George, Kimi (Antonelli) and everyone else because the guy on pole would effectively be preventing us from improving our lap times.”
There have been several high-profile moments in F1 history where drivers have deliberately caused yellow flags to stop rivals from setting quicker lap times in qualifying.
In Monaco in 2006, Michael Schumacher was famously stripped of pole position when he parked his Ferrari on the outside of the second last corner. At the time, Fernando Alonso was more than two-tenths up on Schumacher’s fastest lap and was more than likely going to snatch pole.
Schumacher insisted he made a mistake, although the consensus at the time was he had done it deliberately. Stewards agreed, and he was excluded from qualifying.
Verstappen crashed out in the final runs during qualifying in Austria. Getty Images
In 2014, again in Monaco, Nico Rosberg was accused of doing something similar when he locked a brake and slid into the run-off area, causing a yellow flag which ruined the lap of teammate Hamilton behind him.
There have also been several other instances where drivers have genuinely spun or crashed in qualifying, inadvertently helping themselves.
Sainz said he’d had the thoughts himself in Azerbaijan last year when he sat on top of the qualifying time sheets for much of the third and final part of the session.
“… Baku last year, when I was on pole and was the first car out of the pits. I thought, ‘If I crash now, I’m on pole.’ So, we all have these thoughts and these second thoughts, and we all know how the rule book works,” he continued.
George Russell on his way to pole for last weekend's Austrian Grand Prix. Getty Images
“For that reason, I think anyone who generates a yellow flag or a red flag in qualifying should receive a three-place grid drop. At least then you get penalised for it and are disincentivised from going flat out into something.
“That wasn’t the case with Max because, obviously, I think he crashed due to a rear-wing failure or something like that. But I think we should somehow find a solution, and that’s my only idea: if you generate a yellow or a red, you should receive some kind of penalty.”
The British Grand Prix is the fourth sprint weekend of the year – the first time the venue has held a sprint race since the inaugural sprint in 2021.
British Grand Prix schedule (AEST)
- Friday 9.30pm | Practice (60 mins)
- Saturday 1.30am | Sprint Qualifying
- Saturday 9pm | Sprint Race (17 laps)
- Sunday 1am | Grand Prix Qualifying
- Monday 12am | Grand Prix (52 laps)
