Oscar Piastri has split from manager Mark Webber and his agency effective immediately.
The surprise announcement ends an almost seven-year relationship between Piastri and Webber’s management agency, helmed by the nine-time grand prix winner and his wife Ann.
Webber signed Piastri to his agency at the end of 2019 after winning the Formula Renault Eurocup series, the first of three consecutive junior championship.
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Piastri subsequently became part of the Renault junior driver program in 2020, which was supposed to lead to him making his debut for the Alpine-branded French team in 2023 after Fernando Alonso announced his intention to quit.
Alpine, however, had not offered Piastri a valid contract. Webber, already turned off by Alpine’s attempts to farm Piastri out to smaller teams further down the grid, took advantage of the situation to shift his protégé into Daniel Ricciardo’s seat at McLaren for his 2023 debut.
It transformed Piastri’s career prospects. While Alpine has languished on the bottom half of the title table, Piastri scored his maiden grand prix podium in his first season, wins in his second season and contended for the championship last year.
Webber, from Queanbeyan in New South Wales, was a fixture in the McLaren garage in Piastri’s first three campaigns to help the Melburnian get up to speed, but earlier this year it was announced that he would be stepping away from the paddock to make room for Pedro Matos, his Formula 2 title-winning race engineer, and mental coach Emma Murray to join the entourage.
There had been long-running speculation last year of tension between Webber and McLaren over various decisions that some perceived as showing bias for Norris’s title campaign, including the team orders at the Italian Grand Prix and the handling of their collision on the opening lap in Singapore, both of which were a factor in Piastri’s late-season collapse.
However, Piastri said at the start of the season that there was no specific trigger for the change in management structure and that Webber would still manage his commercial affairs.
But just months later the two parties have announced they have amicably separated.
“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 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.
“We wish Oscar all the very best for a long and successful career.“
Piastri added: “I’d like to thank Mark and Ann for all their support and advice over the years.
“Their guidance has been invaluable, particularly in navigating the beginning of my F1 career. I wish them all the best going forward.“
Webber’s agency would not comment on the timing of the announcement when approached by Fox Sports.
Three rounds remain in the 2026 season.
Piastri is seventh on the championship table with 152 points. The 25-year-old has had a difficult campaign adjusting to the new regulations, having gone winless so far this season, with just two podium finishes to his name, the fewest of any of the frontrunning drivers.
Though teammate Lando Norris is only one place ahead of him on the title table, the Englishman’s three victories, including in Brazil at the weekend, have him an unreachable 94 points ahead.
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