Piastri splits from manager Webber after seven years as F1 title bid intensifies

Oscar Piastri and Mark Webber have ended their seven-year management partnership by mutual agreement, the pair announced, with the McLaren driver set to operate under a new management structure as his 2025 Formula 1 title challenge continues.

Webber and his wife Ann took Piastri under their wing in 2019, the year the then-teenager narrowly beat Victor Martins to the Formula Renault Eurocup title and earned a place on Renault’s F1 academy. The rise that followed was rapid: Piastri claimed the Formula 3 title in 2020 — edging Theo Pourchaire and Logan Sargeant by a slim margin — before winning Formula 2 as a rookie in 2021 with relative ease.

The most consequential decision of Webber’s tenure came when he steered Piastri away from Alpine and into a McLaren race seat for the 2023 season. Across 88 Formula 1 starts, the 25-year-old Australian has accumulated six pole positions and nine victories.

“We are proud to have played a pivotal role in the formative years of Oscar’s career and to have placed him in F1 so that he could compete at the front so early on,” Webber said in a joint statement. “Following our reduced trackside involvement this season, we have collectively agreed that now is an appropriate time to bring our management agreement to a close. This will allow Oscar to build on his achievements under a new management structure, and for us to embark on our new ventures.”

Piastri acknowledged the debt he owes the Webbers. “Their guidance has been invaluable, particularly in navigating the beginning of my F1 career,” he said. “I wish them all the best going forward.”

The split had been signalled since the start of the 2025 season, when Webber stepped back from trackside duties. Two new figures moved into supporting roles alongside Piastri: Pedro Matos, his former race engineer at Prema in Formula 2, and mental coach Emma Murray.

Speaking in February, Piastri played down any suggestion of a falling-out. “There wasn’t anything specific, just we made a decision for things to look a bit different,” he said. “Mark is still very much involved and I’ve been in contact with him a lot over the last few weeks. There was nothing specific that triggered it.”

In a podcast appearance in May, Piastri reflected warmly on Webber’s influence. “Very thorough, is Mark. When I first got into F1, Mark was coming up with questions and ideas that literally hadn’t even entered my brain,” he said. “I would hear him say it and go like, ‘How the hell did he think of that?’”

The formal end of the arrangement draws a line under one of the more quietly effective driver-manager partnerships in recent F1 history — one that helped transform Piastri from a promising junior into a genuine championship contender.