Mark Webber described the rumours circulating around Oscar Piastri's future at McLaren as "nonsense", amid suggestions the team could move for Max Verstappen.

Webber, who is Piastri's manager and drove for Red Bull between 2007 and 2013, has seen his compatriot linked with his former team in recent weeks. 

Piastri is on a multi-year contract which runs through until 2028, but it has been reported that he could leave McLaren to make way for four-time world champion Verstappen.

Verstappen's future at Red Bull has been up in the air for some time, with the Dutchman expressing his displeasure at the new Formula One regulations introduced for 2026, and he has even suggested he could walk away from the sport altogether.

He is contracted with Red Bull until 2028 but reportedly has an exit clause in his deal, with both McLaren and Mercedes touted as potential landing spots.

Should Verstappen be outside the top two in the drivers' championship at the start of this season's summer break in August, then he can talk to potential employers, per reports. 

Verstappen is currently seventh in the standings following last weekend's British Grand Prix and is 103 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli. 

However, Webber has made it abundantly clear that Piastri is contracted with the defending constructors' champions and is not going anywhere.

"Oscar is contracted to McLaren for the foreseeable future," Webber told RACER. "Talk of him agitating to leave is nonsense.

"There has been a lot of fiction written about him and other teams. McLaren have repeatedly said they want him for the long term and Oscar is focused on that."

McLaren boss Zak Brown has denied being in the driver market but did leave the door open for a potential move for Verstappen in the future, should the opportunity be right. 

Piastri has endured a difficult start to his 2026 campaign, having missed out on the drivers' championship last season to team-mate Lando Norris. 

He finished third in the standings behind Verstappen despite leading for much of the season, but he currently finds himself down in sixth and 15 points behind Norris. 

The McLaren driver failed to start the first two races in Australia and Japan following issues with his car, though he responded with back-to-back podium finishes. 

Since then, his best finish came at the Austrian Grand Prix (fourth), while he took the chequered flag in 11th at Silverstone last time out. The Belgian Grand Prix is next weekend.