Piastri shuts down Verstappen McLaren rumors before Spa
NXTbets Pro | Published On: July 16, 2026
Piastri McLaren future
At Spa ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, McLaren driver Oscar Piastri shut down the latest seat talk with a simple answer. Asked whether he would still be racing for McLaren next season, he said yes. The rumors had linked Red Bull driver Max Verstappen to McLaren and raised the possibility of Piastri being replaced. Piastri said he is very comfortable at McLaren, trusts the team and is not concerned by the speculation. He also said Zak Brown and Andrea Stella have been great and very reassuring through the noise. Brown backed that view from the team side, saying he is happy with McLaren’s current driver lineup. Verstappen is under contract to Red Bull through 2028, and Mark Webber pushed back on the chatter by saying there has been “a lot of fiction written” about the possibility of Verstappen joining McLaren. Webber also said Piastri is contracted to McLaren “for the foreseeable future” and is focused on the long term. The message from both sides was clear. Piastri expects to stay. McLaren expects to keep him.
Brown Stella support
The support from Brown and Stella gave Piastri a steady message before a busy race weekend. He said the pair had been reassuring through the speculation, and that fit with his overall tone at Spa. He did not sound rattled by the rumors around Verstappen. He said he trusts McLaren and feels settled there. That matters because the conversation around his future arrived before the Belgian Grand Prix and before the team had even turned to its on-track work for the weekend. Brown’s public backing reinforced the same point. McLaren wants its current driver lineup intact, and Piastri said he feels good about where he stands inside the team. Webber’s comments went in the same direction. He described the talk about Verstappen and McLaren as fiction and said Piastri’s deal runs for the foreseeable future. The combined message from Piastri, Brown, Stella and Webber left little room for doubt about the present. McLaren is not treating the seat as open. Piastri is not treating the noise as a concern.
Piastri Belgian outlook
Piastri also looked ahead to the racing at Spa with a clear view of McLaren’s position. He said the team is likely to be the third- or fourth-quickest car at the Belgian Grand Prix weekend. That leaves McLaren chasing the front rather than controlling the pace. Piastri said he hopes upcoming upgrades will help close the gap to the front-runners. He arrives at Spa trying to recover from a scoreless result at Silverstone, where an opening-lap collision and an unscheduled pit stop ended his day without points. The Belgian circuit still gives him a route back. Piastri said his win at last year’s Belgian Grand Prix venue gives him a chance to recover points if other drivers struggle. That history matters in a tight weekend. He knows the track. He knows the conditions can create chances. McLaren may not expect to arrive as the quickest car, but Piastri has a recent win at the venue and a clear target. He wants progress from the upgrades and a stronger return after Silverstone.
