Piastri splits with Webber's F1 management team
Oscar Piastri has split from the management team headed by ex-Formula 1 driver Mark Webber and Ann Neal.
A statement on behalf of McLaren driver Piastri announced on Monday after the Brazilian Grand Prix that the two parties had mutually ended their agreement.
Nine-time grand prix winner Webber started working with Piastri in 2019, before the young Australian's ascent to F1 really gathered momentum.
Piastri said their "guidance has been invaluable, particularly in navigating the beginning of my F1 career".
It was when Piastri won back-to-back titles in Formula 3 and Formula 2 in 2020 and 2021, but then-backer Alpine failed to get him onto the grid in 2022, that Webber substantially changed Piastri's immediate future for the better.
Alpine vaguely tried to hang on to Piastri longer-term and was keen to place him in a Williams seat on loan for a couple of seasons, which Webber did not accept.
Knowing Alpine had bungled the handling of Piastri's F1 contract, so there was a window to leave, Webber pushed for the McLaren switch for 2023 in place of Daniel Ricciardo that stunned Alpine and the F1 paddock.
It pulled Piastri from the sidelines, vaulted him clear of middling seasons in a backmarker or midfield team, and made him an F1 podium finisher in his rookie season.
Piastri's first wins followed in 2024, and he narrowly missed out on winning the world championship in 2025. In March last year, Piastri's management secured him a new multi-year deal - which Webber said this summer Piastri was still happy with as speculation linked McLaren with a Max Verstappen move, and there were suggestions Piastri may want to leave anyway.
This year, though, the Piastri-Webber arrangement shifted. Webber was previously a regular presence in the paddock alongside Piastri whereas this year the Webber/Neal role was moved "behind the scenes", Piastri said back in pre-season testing.
Last season, when Piastri got the rough end of the stick on several occasions with how McLaren tried to balance the title fight between him and team-mate Lando Norris, Webber was not impressed by McLaren's actions, nor the reasoning given when Piastri had a championship-wrecking slump in the final quarter of the year.
Whether there was any serious tension between McLaren and Piastri's camp - beyond typical clashes of interest between a race team and the group supporting one driver specifically - has never been directly addressed by either party.
Piastri described the 2026 shift as "just taking a bit of a step back, that's all", but now the relationship has ended.
"Following our reduced trackside involvement this season, we have collectively agreed that now is an appropriate time to bring our management agreement to a close," said Webber.
"This will allow Oscar to build on his achievements under a new management structure, and for us to embark on our new ventures.
"We wish Oscar all the very best for a long and successful career."
