Former McLaren driver Juan Pablo Montoya has suggested that Oscar Piastri may already be sounding out rival Formula 1 teams after a rollercoaster 2025 season with the Woking-based outfit.
The Australian, who led the Drivers’ Championship by 34 points at one point of the campaign, saw his title hopes evaporate amid a dip in form, combined with resurgent performances from both teammate Lando Norris and eventual champion Max Verstappen.
Montoya, however, believes Piastri’s late-season surge proves the young driver’s raw pace remains intact.
“If you look at Oscar in the last two races, he finally turned things around and won,” the Colombian said.
“His frustration was so great that he thought: I have nothing to lose. And as soon as he thought that, the speed came back.”
Hard lessons and Internal Frustrations
The 2025 season was a masterclass in psychological warfare for Piastri. From the "Monza Furore" over position swaps to being aggressively shoved wide by Norris in Singapore, the young Australian has been forced to navigate a minefield of team orders and internal politics.
“This must be tough for him. It’s really frustrating,” Montoya said of the championship loss.
“But you have to react faster. I think it’s a good lesson for him, that what he’s doing isn’t good enough, that what the team around him is doing isn’t good enough, and that he needs to figure out how to get the team to work better and faster around him.”
The Webber Factor: Scars and Secret Talks
While McLaren boss Zak Brown publicly insists Piastri will win "multiple" titles with the team, Montoya suggests the driver needs to look inward – and perhaps outward – to fulfill his championship ambitions, with the help of his very astute manager, Mark Webber.
Having lived through the infamous "Multi-21" era at Red Bull as Sebastian Vettel's teammate, Webber knows exactly what it feels like to be the "other" guy in a championship-winning car.
Montoya is convinced that history is repeating itself, and Webber is already making moves.
“I guarantee you that Oscar Piastri and Mark Webber are already talking to another F1 team,” Montoya asserted.
“I don’t think Mark Webber was satisfied with Oscar’s development at McLaren. Mark isn’t very happy with McLaren. But the question is whether Oscar is very unhappy with McLaren.”
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However, the seven-time Grand Prix winner issued a stern warning about letting past traumas dictate the future of F1’s brightest young star. The ghost of Red Bull past could be a dangerous co-pilot for Piastri’s career trajectory.
“I think they need to be careful and make sure that Webber’s scars from his time as a race car driver have nothing to do with Oscar’s career,” Montoya concluded.
Whether Piastri is truly sounding out rivals or simply gauging his worth, the message is clear: in F1, loyalty is a fluctuating currency, and the "hotline" to rival teams is always open.
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