Rumours around Piastri’s future emerged in recent weeks amid uncertainty surrounding Max Verstappen’s long-term future at Red Bull.
Autosport reported that the Australian had become Red Bull’s leading target should the Dutchman depart the team for 2027.
Piastri remains on a long-term deal at McLaren after signing an extension ahead of the 2025 season, with the 25-year-old continuing to form one of the strongest pairings alongside reigning world champion Lando Norris.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, Piastri denied there had been any discussions with Red Bull.
“It is news to me, yes,” Piastri said.
“There’s obviously not been any discussions or anything, but it’s flattering, and there’s not really much more than that.
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“Hopefully, it proves my stock as a driver, which is a nice thing.”
Piastri also reaffirmed his belief in McLaren’s long-term prospects, declaring he was “very happy” with the team.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in this team that we are going to be able to win races and hopefully championships in the future, so I’m very happy where I am,” he added.
The comments come after McLaren CEO Zak Brown also brushed aside speculation linking Piastri with a future move to Red Bull, insisting McLaren has created an environment where its drivers do not want to leave.
Speaking to The Athletic ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, Brown said interest from rival teams in his drivers was inevitable.
“I would imagine there’s not a team on the grid that wouldn’t want to have Oscar and Lando driving for them,” Brown said.
“My general view, contracts aside, [is] our job is to create an environment where our drivers don’t want to drive anywhere else, or for that matter, our employees or our sponsors don’t want to sponsor another team.
“My job – our job – is to create an environment where you go, ‘Well, you’ve got a contract.’ Yes, we have that anyways, for the record.”
Brown stressed McLaren’s focus was not simply on tying people down through contracts, but instead building a culture people genuinely want to remain part of.
“You don’t want to hold someone because you’ve got a piece of paper, you want (them) to go, ‘This is the team I want to race with, the team I want to be on, the team I want to be a mechanic on, the team I want to sponsor’,” he added.
“That’s what I want to do, try and create that environment. I think there’s a lot of talent inside McLaren that other racing teams would like to have.”
Brown reiterated that despite the ongoing rumours, he would not swap his current driver pairing for any other combination on the grid, adding that his dream was to have two world champions in the team at the same time and that he was “halfway there”.
“The first thing on your shopping list is the best drivers in the world,” Brown said.
“In all of our racing series, the number one goal is the best driver line-up that you can get. I wouldn’t trade ours for any other combination on the grid.”
McLaren entered the 2026 season as the reigning constructors’ champion after securing back-to-back titles in 2024 and 2025, while Norris claimed his maiden drivers’ championship last season.
Piastri was also firmly in title contention throughout much of 2025, leading the standings for much of the season before eventually ending the year third in the standings, just 13 points behind Norris.
The team has endured a difficult start to its title defence in 2026, with Norris’ Miami sprint victory marking McLaren’s only win across the opening four rounds of the season.
McLaren currently sits third in the constructors’ standings, 86 points behind Mercedes.
Piastri failed to start the opening two rounds of the season, but has since bounced back with a second-place finish in Japan after leading much of the race, as well as a third in Miami.
The Melburnian told The Athletic that he believed he was still capable of achieving his championship dream with McLaren.
“Last year, or even just through the years, I think the trust and the proof of how we can take a car, and almost a team in some ways, that has potential and actually realise that potential, is more than enough for me to see just what this team is capable of,” he said.
“It’s shown me that in the next few years, or the next however many years, that we’re capable of staying at the front.
“We’ve got all of the pieces of the puzzle that we want and that we need, and now it’s about trying to go out and execute and see how many championships we can win.”
2026 F1 Canadian Grand Prix – Schedule, how to watch, TV times & more
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