Zak Brown sends emphatic answer to Helmut Marko after Piastri talks claim

Contrary to what Helmut Marko says, Zak Brown insists Oscar Piastri is “not going anywhere” as he still has years to run on his McLaren contract.

Red Bull’s 2025 driver line-up has been the subject of speculation throughout this season, the team said to be considering dropping Sergio Perez amidst his ongoing struggles.

Oscar Piastri will not head to Red Bull any time soon

The Mexican driver hasn’t featured on the podium since April’s Chinese Grand Prix with his poor results hurting Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship where they’ve fallen behind McLaren, and are at risk of losing third place to Ferrari.

That coupled with McLaren team orders favouring Lando Norris led to suggestions that Piastri would be a good replacement for Perez.

It’s speculation that Marko seized on , telling F1-Insider.com : “Let’s put it this way: Mark Webber is intensively seeking conversation.”

Webber, who is Piastri’s manager, has a good relationship with Red Bull having spent seven years racing for the Milton Keynes outfit.

However, McLaren CEO Brown says that’s nothing more than Marko stirring the pot.

Asked by Sky F1 about Pato O’Ward’s FP1 run at the Mexican Grand Prix and whether the IndyCar star could one day make the move over to Formula 1, Brown replied: “I definitely think he’s capable of being a Formula One driver.”

But, he added: “You know, we’re obviously very happy with our two guys, and we’ve got them signed up for quite some time.

“They are not going anywhere, contrary to some speculation by one other team boss.”

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McLaren though, are keen to ensure O’Ward is up to speed in the MCL38 as one never knows when a reserve driver may be needed.

Already this season Ferrari and Haas have both had to call on Oliver Bearman. The Briton replaced Carlos Sainz in Saudi Arabia when he underwent an appendectomy before stepping into Kevin Magnussen’s Haas in Baku as the Dane served a one-race ban.

“I think he’s very capable being a Formula 1 driver,” Brown continued. “And you never know, your drivers can get appendicitis and COVID and all sorts of things. So we always want to make sure we’ve got a driver well prepared in case we need to put them.”

Brown is not the first to refute Marko’s claim about Webber, Piastri telling the media including PlanetF1.com that it was just Marko being Marko.

“I think we all know that Helmut says a lot of things in the press. As far as I’m aware there’s no truth to it,” he said.

“I’m very, very happy where I am,” he added. “The team have supported me massively since I came into F1, they gave me my opportunity in F1. At the moment in the standings we’re in a very happy place, so I am more than happy with where I am at the moment.”

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