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F1 trades: Piastri and Verstappen swap gathers momentum
SEN • May 7th, 2026 1:45 pm
More and more voices are being added to speculation that Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen are set to swap teams in what would be one of the biggest F1 trades in recent memory.
Last month, in the wake of Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambise announcing he would leave Red Bull for the papaya team at season's end, Ralf Schumacher tabled the notion of a driver swap.
“This could mean he leaves Red Bull because he no longer believes in the team and quits altogether, especially since he never tires of emphasising how boring he finds Formula 1,” Schumacher told Sky Sports in Germany.
“Or: He goes to McLaren with his engineer, which would equally mean that there are negotiations underway at McLaren for Oscar Piastri to go to Red Bull, something we’ve seen before."
Now the rumour is gathering momentum amid the suggestion Piastri's manager and former F1 driver Mark Webber is not happy with how things are developing at McLaren.
“From what I’m hearing Mark Webber is not happy the way things are going for Oscar at McLaren,” seven-time Grand Prix winner Juan Pablo Montoya told Betpack.
“A lot of times people that look after drivers will run a story like that just to stir up the pot and put pressure on the team.
“Piastri would find a seat anywhere. There’s a suggestion that Max and Piastri could do a straight swap. That makes some sense.
“Webber raced for Red Bull before. He knows Red Bull. So that would be a sensible thing.
“That would be a logical thing to do. The question is, would McLaren be comfortable spending the money that Max would want?”
Currently, four-time world champion Verstappen is contracted to Red Bull until the end of 2028, but it has been well illustrated in recent years that contracts mean very little in F1.
Last March, Piastri signed an extension with McLaren but, given the manner in which he came to have the seat, nobody is immune to the fickle nature of F1.
And it's not just the F1 legends that have heard the whispers, Sky F1 correspondent David Croft is aware that discussions are being had.
“I don’t give it much weight but you are constantly surprised in this sport,” Croft told Speedcafe.
“You are going to hear those rumours because his race engineer has gone there.
“(McLaren) are building up that great backroom staff now of people Max has worked with and worked with quite closely.
“I would (be surprised if it happened), because it means one of their two drivers (Piastri and Norris) has left. so I would be a bit surprised to be fair, but I’ve been in this sport 20 years now so I’ve learnt not to be too surprised.
“The understanding is with Max’s contract if he is not in the top two by a certain stage this season, come summer break time, he has the ability to say goodbye to Red Bull.
“Does he take a sabbatical? Does he go elsewhere? He is going be expensive if he does go elsewhere, but by that same token do you want to give up that earning potential to have a sabbatical? Those private jets don’t pay for themselves to be fair.
“It’s kind of watch this space with interest really.”
