Oscar Piastri breaks silence on Max Verstappen replacing him at McLaren

Oscar Piastri has spoken out against rumours that Max Verstappen will replace him at McLaren next year.

On Sunday afternoon, four-time World Drivers' Champion Verstappen secured his third podium finish of the season at the Belgian Grand Prix.

The Dutchman has had a turbulent season in 2026, where he is yet to win a Grand Prix and currently sits down in seventh in the Drivers' Championship standings, 113 points behind leader Kimi Antonelli.

Verstappen's challenging season so far has led to various rumours regarding his future, with the 28-year-old reportedly considering both a move away from Red Bull or even an early retirement.

While there has been a wealth of different rumours regarding Verstappen's plans for next year, the strongest links appear to suggest he could make a spectacular move to join McLaren in 2027.

Should the move happen, it's widely been speculated that it would be at the expense of Australia's Oscar Piastri, who could then take the vacant seat at Red Bull in what would be a straight swap.

But. ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, Piastri has again reaffirmed his plans to stay with McLaren next year, claiming he is “very comfortable” with his current situation.

When he was asked if he would be racing for McLaren next year, he simply replied: "Yes.

"I didn’t realise it was a point of contention, but yes.”

As it stands, Piastri is under contract with McLaren until at least the end of 2028, having penned a new long-term deal ahead of the 2025 season.

And despite the rumours, which Piastri told The Athletic he'd “obviously seen some of it and heard some of it”, he remains "very comfortable with where I am and where I sit.”

Piastri added: “Zak and Andrea (Stella, McLaren’s team principal) and the whole team have been great through all that, very reassuring. I’ve been the same for them.

“Clearly, Max is feeling… I don’t know, maybe he’s not in a great position at the moment, or exploring options. It was the same thing last year with him and Mercedes, so it’s nothing new.

“But I’m very happy with where I’m at, where things are at, and how it’s all going.”

READ MORE: F1 standings: How the World Drivers' Championship picture looks after Belgian Grand Prix

Max Verstappen gives future update amid McLaren links

Despite the rumours, Verstappen himself is yet to directly confirm his plans for next year, in some ways further fuelling speculation that he could leave Red Bull.

During Thursday’s FIA news conference ahead of the Belgian GP, the four-time champion said that he made “nothing” of the recent speculation, adding that there was “nothing to say from my side.”

“I don’t want to go here and say yes or no, and this and that, about my future,” Verstappen said.

“I’ve said already many times that if there was something new, I would say it myself.”

Similar rumours surronded Verstappen last year, with the Dutchman instead linked with Mercedes, and it wasn't until July that he officially confirmed that he would be staying at Red Bull for 2026.

Therefore, we can expect rumours about his future to continue to ramp up over the summer, with many drivers expected to change teams ahead of the 2027 season.