Oscar Piastri would be forced to adhere to a strict rule if he joins Ferrari amid speculation of a shock switch to the Scuderia.
Piastri is leading the Formula One Drivers' championship by 22 points going into the six races season, following on from the Singapore Grand Prix.
He and Lando Norris have already brought home the Constructors' title for McLaren after dominating the season but he is still tussling it out with his teammate for who will win the individual campaign.
However, amid tensions in McLaren at the most recent race, rumours have swirled about the possibility of the Australian moving onto pastures new.
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According to Swiss outlet Blick, Piastri has started 'setting his sights' on potentially departing McLaren after three seasons.
He is still contracted until 2028 yet there is the possibility of a vacant Ferrari seat becoming available a year earlier, with the situation involving Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc, who has reportedly held preliminary talks with other teams, proving key.
Piastri has never been associated with Ferrari but did win Formula 2 and Formula 3 championships with Italian team Prema Racing, a sort of feeder team to the F1 giants.
If he was to make a sensational switch to Ferrari, Piastri would have to get used to the fact that the team do not operate with a clear driver hierarchy in place and have not done for a long time.
“We showed this season that we have more than equal treatment between the drivers,” Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur told media in December 2023, when Leclerc was paired with Carlos Sainz prior to Hamilton's arrival.
“I remember perfectly that one year ago in the same room, I had tons of questions about Charles number one and Carlos number two and 'blah blah blah'.
“It's not that we have a number one that’s a bigger asset. We have two drivers, they are doing a good job," Vasseur stated.
At Red Bull, Max Verstappen is the top dog - while Hamilton had a similarly preferential treatment when Valtteri Bottas was his teammate at Mercedes.
Ferrari like to have a level playing field, with the team coming first before individuals.
Piastri's Singapore GP fiasco with Norris
McLaren have tried to do that this year but on Sunday Piastri was furious with Norris after they made contact on turn two at the Marina Bay Circuit when the latter tried to avoid Verstappen.
On his team radio, Piastri fumed to engineer Tom Stallard, saying: "So are we cool with Lando just barging me out of the way or? What's the go to there?"
He was told that no action would be taken during the race, prompting him to state: "Mate, that's not fair. Sorry, that's not fair. If he has to avoid another car by crashing into his team-mate, that's a pretty **** job of avoiding."
At the Italian Grand Prix, Piastri was instructed to let his team-mate through into second place when Norris fell behind due to a slow pit-stop - but there was no swap on Sunday.
Norris finished third, one place above Piastri, who eventually joined in on the McLaren celebrations despite his frustrations.
Afterwards, Team principal Andrea Stella confirmed that McLaren would be conducting a "very detailed, very analytical" review where they would consult both drivers for their viewpoints.
He also added that he team "want to protect this ‘let them race’ concept".
Next up in the F1 calendar is the United States Grand Prix, which takes place at th eCircuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on Sunday 19 October.
Topics: Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Formula 1
Josh Lawless