Oscar Piastri does not intend to respond to rumors.

      Last year, Oscar Piastri was considered one of the main contenders for the title, and he indeed led the personal standings for quite a while. However, starting from the autumn stages of the season, the Australian driver clearly lost ground, and in the end, the world champion became Lando Norris, his teammate at McLaren.

      This year, as Formula 1 transitioned to new generation cars, the Woking team does not look its best, with its drivers yet to secure a victory, and after nine stages, Piastri is in 6th place in the personal standings, trailing Norris by 15 points. One of the actively discussed topics is Oscar's future prospects, as there are rumors that Max Verstappen could take his place at McLaren.

      The management of the British team and Mark Webber, Piastri's manager, categorically deny this, but the rumor mill continues to churn, as it always does in the middle of the year.

      Now, the 25-year-old driver himself, who has 9 victories and has stood on the podium 28 times over three and a half seasons, has also commented on this topic.

      "If we're talking about me, I'm just trying to fully focus on my work – that's the main thing right now," Oscar said while participating in the Checkered Flag podcast. "I know that I will continue to race for McLaren in the foreseeable future, and I know that the team is happy with me. I also enjoy working with this group, and we have developed a good relationship.

      Overall, from my perspective, all of this is just noise, and I don't intend to react to it. I'm just trying to stay focused and perform as well as I can. For me, that's the most important thing, and let others talk and entertain themselves as they wish."

      A couple of months ago, Piastri had to comment on rumors that he was allegedly already negotiating with Red Bull – of course, he denied everything then as well. Formally, Verstappen's contract with this team runs until 2028, but, firstly, contracts often include special clauses allowing for early termination under certain conditions, and secondly, the history of Formula 1 knows many examples that if it's really necessary, any agreements can be renegotiated.