Oscar Piastri parts ways with Mark and Ann Webber after seven years
Oscar Piastri. Снимка: Liauzh / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0Oscar Piastri. Снимка: Liauzh / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Oscar Piastri and his long-time managers Mark and Ann Webber have mutually agreed to end their partnership. They announced the decision on 9 November, the day after the São Paulo Grand Prix. Mark began working with Oscar in 2019. The deal with JAM Sports Management was made public in March 2020, as the 18-year-old prepared for his Formula 3 debut.
“Their guidance has been invaluable, particularly in navigating the beginning of my F1 career,” Piastri said. Webber said he and Ann took pride in securing Oscar a seat where he could race at the front so early in his career. Mark and Ann will pursue new projects. The announcement did not name a successor.
How Webber helped Piastri land the McLaren seat
Piastri followed his 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup title by winning Formula 3 in 2020 and Formula 2 in 2021, both as a rookie. Even with three straight titles, he spent 2022 as Alpine’s reserve. The French team wanted to loan him to Williams, but Webber saw an opening at McLaren and helped him secure Daniel Ricciardo’s seat.
In August 2022, Alpine announced Piastri as Fernando Alonso’s replacement. Within hours, Piastri publicly rejected the announcement. He had already signed for McLaren on 4 July. When the case went before the FIA’s Contract Recognition Board, the McLaren deal was the only one it recognised. Piastri made his debut alongside Lando Norris in 2023. On 21 July 2024, he passed his team-mate at the first corner of the Hungaroring on his way to his first Grand Prix win. In March 2025 he signed a new multi-year McLaren deal.
How Webber’s role had already changed
At testing in Bahrain in February, Piastri explained that Webber would attend fewer races. The pair were still in regular contact as Webber turned his attention to commercial matters. At the circuit, Piastri reunited with Pedro Matos, his race engineer at Prema when he won the F2 title. Emma Murray, the mental coach he has worked with since his junior career, also began attending more races.
Speaking on the High Performance podcast in May, Piastri recalled listening to Webber ask questions that had never occurred to him as a rookie. By his fourth F1 season, he said, he knew many of the answers himself. And where he still needed one, experience had taught him which question to ask.
Sources · Autosport · The Race · Motorsport Australia · FIA · FIA · Hungary 2024 · McLaren · Motorsport.com
Photo: Liauzh / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
