Oscar Piastri Speaks Out on Mark Webber’s New Role Ahead of 2026 Australian GP

Oscar Piastri has confirmed that his long-time manager Mark Webber will scale back his presence at race weekends this season, although the former Formula 1 driver remains closely involved in shaping his career decisions behind the scenes.



The Australian driver explained that the adjustment was not prompted by any specific incident, but rather a collective decision to restructure how his support team operates during grands prix.



“There wasn’t anything specific. Just, you know, we made a decision for things to look a bit different.”



Pedro Matos To Take On Expanded Weekend Role



As part of the reshuffle, Pedro Matos, the engineer who worked with Piastri during his successful Formula 2 title-winning campaign in 2021, is expected to assume a more prominent presence at the majority of race weekends.



While Matos will provide trackside expertise and guidance, it is understood he will not be directly employed by McLaren, instead operating in a role focused on supporting Piastri personally.



Webber, who managed Piastri alongside Ann Neal through his rise to Formula 1, will continue to play a strategic role but attend only selected events during the 2026 campaign.



“Mark is still very much involved, and I’ve been in contact with him a lot over the last few weeks. He just won’t be trackside as much anymore.”



“So, that’s really the extent of it. There’s nothing specific that triggered it.”



Piastri will also maintain his working relationship with respected sports psychologist Emma Murray, ensuring continuity in the mental performance aspect of his preparation.



Lessons From A First Title Fight



The changes follow a season in which Piastri mounted his first genuine championship challenge, holding a 34-point advantage at one stage before losing momentum in the final third of the campaign.



Ultimately, he fell behind both his McLaren teammate Lando Norris and reigning champion Max Verstappen, a late-season dip that provided valuable lessons as he prepares for another push.



With Formula 1 entering a fresh regulatory cycle, Piastri believes the shift in machinery and driving demands offers a natural moment to reassess his operational structure across race weekends.



McLaren Build Momentum After Bahrain Testing



McLaren concluded pre-season testing in Bahrain having completed the highest overall lap tally across the six available days, accumulating 817 laps around the Bahrain International Circuit.



The extensive mileage has provided the team with substantial data ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, even as Zak Brown suggested Ferrari and Mercedes could begin the season with a slight advantage.



For Piastri, adapting to the radically revised regulations has presented both challenges and opportunities as he becomes more familiar with the new technical characteristics of the car.



“It’s definitely been a learning curve.”



“There are still some things that we need to do as drivers that are certainly very different to what we had to do last year.”



He explained that both drivers and engineers are gradually discovering performance gains as they refine their approach under the updated ruleset.



“But, I think the kind of optimisation around driving that way… firstly, as drivers, I think we’re getting our heads around the new things we need to do. And as teams, [we are] making accommodations for having to drive a certain way now.”



“I think it has improved. It still is very different to what we have before, but I think, naturally, we’ve all probably found performance, and just with performance, it’s made some creature comforts a little bit nicer as well.”



“I think we are making progress. Let’s see what Melbourne’s like.”
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