Oscar Piastri reshuffled his management and trackside support for the 2026 Formula 1 season, with long-time manager Mark Webber stepping back from regular trackside duties to concentrate on commercial matters while remaining part of Piastri’s management. Piastri confirmed the change during pre-season testing in Bahrain, describing it as a planned shift that will see Webber attend fewer events and saying, “there wasn’t anything specific, we just made a decision for things to look a bit different.”

The reorganization places engineer Pedro Matos as Piastri’s main presence at grand prix weekends, with Matos—who worked with Piastri as his race engineer at Prema when Piastri won the 2021 FIA Formula 2 title and earlier in British F4 in 2017—taking on weekend engineering duties. Australian mental-performance coach Emma Murray will increase her involvement during race weekends; Murray is best known for her work with three-time Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin. Piastri framed the changes as practical adjustments to support on-track performance as drivers and teams adapt to the sport’s new technical cycle.

Piastri credited Webber with playing a key part in his move from Alpine to McLaren and said Webber had been a steady presence across his first three F1 seasons. He denied any dramatic fallout from the reshuffle and said the revamped support team and car will face their first true test at his home race in Melbourne (March 6–8). Separately, commentators including former driver Ralf Schumacher and unnamed podcast hosts suggested McLaren had instigated some restructuring to restore calm after Piastri’s difficult second half of the 2025 season—in which he led the championship for 15 rounds but ultimately finished third behind teammate Lando Norris and Max Verstappen—an assertion presented as outside commentary rather than Piastri’s account.

Sources