Oscar Piastri remains confident about his future with McLaren despite rumors of Max Verstappen joining the team. Piastri trusts in the assurances from McLaren's leadership and is focused on upcoming races.
Oscar Piastri seems unfazed by the swirling rumors that Max Verstappen might take his seat at McLaren. The Australian driver believes he will continue with McLaren next season, despite the persistent gossip linking the four-time World Champion with a move to the team. According to Piastri's manager, Mark Webber, much of the chatter is mere fiction, and McLaren CEO Zak Brown has expressed his satisfaction with the current driver lineup.
Ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, Verstappen himself added little fuel to the fire, saying there’s nothing substantial to the reports. Meanwhile, Piastri is content with the reassurances from Brown. "I trust in what Zak and Andrea \\[Stella\\] have said to me and the belief in me as well," Piastri shared during media day at Spa. "I'm happy with where I am, with the team around me and how things are going. Appreciate their belief, support and trust."
Piastri is looking to improve after a challenging race at Silverstone, where a first-lap incident left him without points. Returning to Spa, a circuit where he found success last year, Piastri is optimistic about capitalizing on any opportunities that arise. He also anticipates that planned upgrades for the Hungarian Grand Prix will bolster McLaren’s competitiveness.
"For this weekend, I'm not sure where we're going to sit," he admitted. "We're likely to be the third or fourth quickest car, depending on how competitive Red Bull looks. That's just where we are at the moment. Going forward, hopefully, the new parts we can bring to the car will help us out. We're under no illusion that we're going to need more than the upgrades we're bringing in the next few races, but hopefully, it's a positive step in the right direction and we can at least be there to pick up the pieces."