The paradox of having everything and yet feeling utterly empty is a sensation few professional athletes ever truly experience, but for Oscar Piastri, it is the suffocating reality of his life in Formula 1. McLaren has achieved the holy grail of motorsport—winning back-to-back Constructors’ Championships in 2024 and 2025—establishing the Woking-based squad as the undisputed fastest team on the grid. Every driver on the planet dreams of a seat in a car this dominant.

Yet, whispers from the paddock are growing into a deafening roar: Piastri, one of the sport’s most prodigious young talents, is deeply unhappy and considering a shock exit. The question that has ignited furious debate across social media and the global press is as absurd as it is profound: Why would a driver walk away from a guaranteed championship contender? The answer lies in the complex, brutal psychology of a championship fight, where the perception of fairness can be more damaging than the lack of speed, and where the “golden handcuffs” of a winning team might feel more like a psychological prison.

The Agony of the Near-Champion

The 2025 season was supposed to be Piastri’s coronation. For a stunning 15 of the 24 championship rounds, the young Australian led the World Drivers’ Championship, demonstrating the raw pace and unflappable maturity that had marked him as a future great since his dramatic arrival in F1. It was a spectacular performance that validated his controversial move from Alpine in 2023 and seemed to put him on a direct path to the title in only his third season.

But a series of difficult races in the crucial autumn stretch—what some commentators politely termed a “late wobble”—saw his seemingly insurmountable lead vanish. When the checkered flag fell on the final race in Abu Dhabi, it was his teammate, Lando Norris, who emerged as the World Champion, leaving Piastri to settle for a frustrating third place, also trailing Max Verstappen in the final standings.

For a driver as ruthlessly competitive as Piastri, who tasted glory only to have it snatched away, this was not just a defeat—it was a personal trauma. It has since fueled a narrative that suggests his loss was not merely down to a dip in form but was subtly influenced by the machinery of his own team, which may have been subtly, or even overtly, favoring the other side of the garage.

The Stigma of the Number Two

The core of Piastri’s frustration, and the foundation for the exit rumours, rests on a perception of unequal treatment. While McLaren publicly maintains a policy of absolute fairness, the pressure cooker of a championship battle inevitably leads to tough, often ambiguous, decisions.

The most notorious flashpoint occurred at Monza, a circuit where team orders indisputably played a role in the final result, arguably compromising Piastri’s race in favor of Norris. Furthermore, the specter of the “Qatar disaster” looms large, a weekend where a critical strategy error cost Piastri a potential victory. What compounded the error was the team’s reaction—or perceived lack thereof—in the aftermath. These individual moments, whether deliberate or accidental, are not isolated incidents; they add up, forming a pattern that creates corrosive doubt in the mind of a young driver fighting for the ultimate prize.

The dynamic between the two drivers is inescapable. Norris has been a fixture at McLaren since 2019, growing up through their system, and forging deep, long-standing relationships within the organization, from the pit wall to the factory floor. He is, in many ways, the prodigal son. Piastri, conversely, arrived in 2023 via a high-profile, acrimonious contract wrangle with Alpine, an outsider who had to immediately prove his worth. In the high-stakes environment of Formula 1, a driver who has been there longer, who has deeper emotional and professional roots, often has an unstated advantage.

The psychological damage of being the perceived number two driver, even without an official designation, is immense. It can chip away at the confidence of a racer who believes he has the talent to be a champion. This internal conflict—the feeling of being held back by the very team meant to elevate him—is the powerful motivation pushing Piastri to look elsewhere, to seek a team where he could be the undisputed, unchallenged number one. The history of F1 is littered with examples of drivers who abandoned comfortable, but secondary, roles to chase that primary status, often with mixed results.

Herbert’s Harsh Reality Check: The Golden Rule

Yet, before Piastri could entertain dreams of a different shade of papaya, a crucial dose of reality was delivered by three-time Grand Prix winner Johnny Herbert, who sounded a clear warning against a potential “shock exit.”

“Why would you want to move on from a team that actually can supply you with the car to win the World Drivers Championship?” Herbert asked pointedly.

This is the central, irrefutable truth of modern Formula 1: The car is king. You can possess the talent of a motorsport god, but if you are strapped into a midfield car, you simply cannot compete for the title. History relentlessly proves this fact: countless great drivers have seen years of their prime wasted languishing in uncompetitive machinery. Piastri, Herbert argues, already holds the single most valuable asset in the sport: a proven championship-winning car. The opportunity is “basically on his plate.”

Walking away from the best chassis and power unit on the grid is, as Herbert describes it, a massive gamble. It means trading an immediate, tangible chance at the World Championship for the slim possibility of a better feeling at a team that may not have the pace.

The Illusory Green Grass of Red Bull and Rivals

If Piastri were to leave, where could he go? The options are terrifyingly restrictive, each presenting a fresh set of insurmountable challenges that make staying at McLaren look like the most rational choice.

The only other team that has consistently challenged at the front is Red Bull Racing. However, a move there would mean directly challenging Max Verstappen—arguably the most formidable, focused, and dominant driver of his generation—in a team that has been built, stone by stone, entirely around his ethos and style. It would be a high-risk, high-reward move of epic proportions. If Piastri were to conquer Verstappen in the same machinery, he would instantly achieve legendary status. But the far greater probability is that he would simply cement his reputation as a permanent number two, his career potentially damaged beyond repair by the comparison.

What of the iconic teams, Mercedes and Ferrari? A transfer to either would generate global headlines, but success is far from guaranteed. Both teams are currently in deep rebuilding phases, desperately attempting to bridge the gap to McLaren and Red Bull. As Herbert rightly stated, if Piastri moved to Ferrari or Mercedes, “there is no guarantee at all that you’re going to get a chance of being world champion.”

Ferrari, despite its history, has endured internal struggles and is preparing to welcome Lewis Hamilton, who will undoubtedly arrive hungry for a farewell success, meaning Piastri would still not be the unchallenged lead driver. Mercedes is also in transition. Neither team has demonstrated the consistency required to challenge for a Constructors’ title, let alone a Drivers’ title, in the immediate future.

With massive regulation changes looming in 2026, the future of the grid is uncertain. Leaving the team that is currently setting the standard for a team that is merely hoping to get it right in 2026 is less a career move and more a leap of faith into the unknown. It could be a brilliant move, a legendary piece of timing, or a catastrophic, career-defining mistake.

The True Battle is Internal

The dilemma Piastri faces is not a technical one; it is an internal one. The challenge is not finding a better car, but proving that he can consistently beat his teammate in the car he already has. This brings the narrative back to his mid-season slump, a period that prompted a tough but necessary assessment from Herbert.

“There were those races where he wasn’t there and went missing,” Herbert observed. “If he had this mental strength that everybody talks about, that would not have come into play.”

To achieve the distinction of World Champion, a driver requires more than just raw speed; they need the mental steel and unshakeable consistency to perform week-in, week-out, especially when the pressure is at its absolute peak. The 2025 season confirmed Piastri’s blistering pace and champion-level talent, but the next, most difficult stage of his development is building the mental resilience to finish the job. His manager, former F1 driver Mark Webber, will undoubtedly be focused on cultivating this aspect of his performance.

For Oscar Piastri, the smart move is unequivocal: stay and fight. He has a long-term contract, a race-winning car, and the full resources of a top-tier team behind him. Walking away would be an act of profound impatience and an unnecessary risk. The focus must be internal: eliminating the mistakes, cultivating the required mental fortitude, and proving to McLaren—and the entire F1 world—that he is not just a future champion, but a champion in waiting who is ready now.

The golden handcuffs may feel tight and restrictive, but they are attached to the best prize in motorsport. The battle between him and Lando Norris is poised to become one of the most compelling storylines in Formula 1 history—two young, fiercely talented drivers in equally fast machinery, fighting for ultimate supremacy. Piastri has all the tools he needs to win that battle right where he is. He must turn his current, profound frustration into the burning, unyielding motivation required to stay, fight, and prove that he absolutely belongs at the very pinnacle of the sport.