Oscar Piastri linked to Ferrari ’27 move as market rumours intensify

Piastri mentioned as Ferrari option amidst uncertain driver landscape

LWOS is one of many outlets to cover the situation at Ferrari. Both on and off track, the Scuderia is failing to hit targets in what has become a bitterly disappointing 2025 campaign.

In the context of a very strong 2024 season, Ferrari’s decline with the SF-25 is particularly notable. This has taken away much of the optimism that Fred Vasseur brought to the team after becoming team principal two years ago.

Perhaps more pressingly, it puts even more pressure on Ferrari to deliver in 2026. Should they fail to hit the ground running next year, the Italian outfit must confront the prospect of both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton looking elsewhere.

Reports are increasingly emerging about Leclerc being open to a move away from Maranello if next year is unsatisfactory. This signalling is also emerging from the Monegasque’s camp, with manager Nicholas Todt emphasising that his driver deserves winning machinery.

Returning to Piastri, his position at McLaren should not be doubted purely because of a slightly tense period. To be sure, the Australian’s unhappiness in Singapore was not an isolated incident – it was directly linked to what he saw as the team’s inconsistency following their intervention in Monza.

Still, Piastri has a multi-year contract with the Woking team and is committed to their project. Should he claim the Championship this year, any potential sticking points in their relationship should evaporate.

At the same time, he will still have the luxury to investigate multiple options in the 2026 market. Should McLaren fail to establish themselves as title contenders with the new regulations, he could look elsewhere.

In theory, there are many drivers (Verstappen, Leclerc, Piastri) with contracts that don’t expire until 2027 or beyond. In reality, however, the last few years have shown that contracts inevitably have exit clauses. This means virtually every driver will enter next year with plenty of flexibility.

The Australian will, like any driver, try to put himself in the best car possible. Then again, Piastri might be tempted to take a risk with a new project for 2027 and beyond – especially if he already has a world title under his belt.

Perhaps because of this, Italian outlet rmcmotori and Swiss outlet Blick have suggested the 9-time race winner is looking at Ferrari as a future destination.

Mark Webber, Piastri’s manager, even gave these declarations to rmcmotori:

“He must complete his development [at McLaren]. And even if Ferrari remains a [potential] point of arrival, he must achieve the final result [winning the title].

“In the meantime, it would be better if he improved his Italian.”

A clearer image to emerge once 2026 begins

It must be emphasised that nothing is certain regarding next year’s driver market. The performance of teams will greatly impact how drivers try and position themselves over the next twelve months.

Ferrari, for example, could be title challengers – and therefore have no concerns of Leclerc or Hamilton exploring alternatives. Moreover, if McLaren are again title contenders in 2026, Piastri might be uninterested in a move elsewhere.

Nevertheless, it is important to be aware of the different whispers and murmurs around the paddock. Considering that only McLaren and Aston Martin kept the same driver line-up between 2024 and 2025, it is not a stretch to imagine a flurry of changes after next year’s regulation changes.

Critically, with the 2026 cars representing such a big shift, some traditionally big teams could plummet down the pecking order. In this scenario, there could be top drivers in relatively lack-lustre machinery, which could trigger some radical changes across the field.