What's behind Oscar Piastri's split with Mark Webber – and what it means for his F1 career

On the Monday after the Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri and Mark Webber announced in a joint statement that the latter and Ann Neal would no longer manage the 25-year-old McLaren driver. The timing may come as a surprise – now rather than at the end of the season – but the news itself had been on the cards for some time.

The clearest hint came from Piastri during pre-season testing in Bahrain. While this writer was mainly interested in his opinion of the 2026 cars – which immediately brought a telling smile to Piastri's face – an Australian colleague raised the subject of Webber's changing role.