Oscar Piastri and Mark Webber have reached a mutual decision to end their management partnership, as announced by the duo.
Webber, along with his spouse Ann—who managed his career during his racing days—took on the role of Piastri’s managers back in 2019. This was the same year that the rising star just edged out Victor Martins for the Formula Renault Eurocup title, securing a place in Renault’s F1 academy.
From that point, Piastri’s ascent was remarkable; he secured the Formula 3 championship the next year, again by a narrow margin, with Theo Pourchaire and Logan Sargeant trailing closely behind. In 2021, he triumphed in Formula 2 as well, also as a rookie, and enjoyed considerably less competition during that time.
With Webber’s guidance, Piastri made a career-defining choice to depart from the Alpine lineup and sign a deal with McLaren to race in the 2023 Formula 1 season, setting the stage for his title ambitions in 2025. To date, the Australian has accumulated six pole positions and nine race victories across 88 career starts.
“We are honored to have been a vital part of Oscar’s early career and to have helped him start his journey in F1, allowing him to contend at the front right from the beginning,” Webber stated.
“Given our reduced involvement at the track this season, we’ve jointly decided that now is the right time to conclude our management arrangement. This change will enable Oscar to build on his success with a new management structure, while we pursue our own new endeavors. We wish Oscar the best for a long and prosperous career.”
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: James Sutton / Formula 1 / Formula Motorsport Ltd via Getty Images
Piastri expressed: “I want to extend my gratitude to Mark and Ann for their unwavering support and counsel throughout the years. Their mentorship has been crucial, especially during the initial stages of my F1 journey. I wish them all the best moving forward.”
Webber had begun stepping back at the onset of the 2026 season and was no longer accompanying Piastri at the racetracks, with a couple of new figures now providing support to the McLaren driver—Pedro Matos, his race engineer from Prema in Formula 2, and mental coach Emma Murray.
“There wasn’t anything particular; we just decided it was time for a change,” Piastri mentioned back in February. “Mark is still very much around, and I’ve been in touch with him quite a bit over the last few weeks. He just won’t be at the racetrack as often anymore. That’s really the gist of it.
“There was nothing specific that prompted this.”
During an appearance on the High Performance Podcast in May, the 25-year-old further stated: “The relationship is solid. Mark is very thorough. When I first entered F1, he would bring up questions and concepts that hadn’t even crossed my mind. I would hear his thoughts and wonder, ‘How did he come up with that?’ Or, ‘How could I ever think of that?’”
Oscar Piastri, McLaren with Mark Webber
Photo by: Getty Images
“And I think just with experience, we’re always learning every day, but now starting my fourth year, I have either the solutions to a lot of those kinds of inquiries that I wouldn’t have had in the initial years, or I know the right questions to keep on asking, which simply comes with time.
“As I gain more experience, there are naturally fewer areas where Mark needs to assist me on the racing front. However, especially during those early years, some lessons must be learned through experience, and there’s no alternate route, but I’m certain I avoided many annoying and challenging lessons because of Mark’s knowledge and direction.
“There will likely always be instances or situations where things went seamlessly or where problems that could have arisen weren’t an issue, thanks to Mark managing them on my behalf. That’s how things have evolved over the years.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
