Oscar Piastri's manager Mark Webber faces criticism from Ralf Schumacher for a lack of support

McLaren star Oscar Piastri has been going head-to-head with Lando Norris for the 2025 F1 season, with multiple controversial calls made by the team. With the season going into the business end, Ralf Schumacher came out and slammed Mark Webber while discussing how the former F1 driver is handling the #81 driver.

Former F1 driver Mark Webber, who went toe-to-toe with Sebastian Vettel for the 2010 title, is currently the manager for his fellow countryman Oscar Piastri. While many expected Lando Norris to dominate the season, given his experience in F1, it was Piastri who surprised and took the lead in the championship a quarter of the way into the season.

Lando Norris, midway through the season, had a few subpar performances and was even on the receiving end of booing from the fans. Some of the controversial calls made by McLaren under the Papaya rules have led some to believe that the Woking-based team is favoring the Briton.

F1 Grand Prix of Italy - Source: Getty

Amid this, there hasn't been any attempt from Oscar Piastri or his manager, Mark Webber, to deny these claims. It is on Webber to train Piastri about the PR responsibilities and the appropriate responses. However, former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher believes that the former Red Bull driver isn't doing a good enough job.

“Unfortunately, at least from the outside, it seems that he (Mark Webber) lacks the necessary distance and maturity to recognize what he must do for the team and his driver, and sufficient fairness towards Lando Norris ," said Ralf Schumacher on Sky Sports Backstage Boxengasse podcast.

Schumacher went on to detail how the change of internal balance at McLaren led to, "something that naturally doesn't please the driver's manager, in this case Mark Webber.” Schumacher explained how he expected Webber to step up, “at the very least, when things become unsportsmanlike or unfair.”

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Former F1 Boss advises Oscar Piastri to leave McLaren if he fails to win the 2025 title

Oscar Piastri currently sits 24 points behind Lando Norris in the championship. Former Haas F1 Team Principal Guenther Steiner came out in the Red Flags podcast and detailed how Piastri would need to regroup in the winter break, or leave McLaren if the Australian fails to win the 2025 title.

“Especially if he doesn't win the championship, I think he has got a good chance to get in any other good car. He’s a good driver and change sometimes is good. He's young enough, he can adapt to it. He should and I think he will. That's my opinion,” said Guenther Steiner “He just needs to regroup over the winter and come back stronger than before. Otherwise, if he doesn’t come back stronger, I think the best for him is that he changes teams then. But he could come back because I still rate him highly,” he added

With three races to go, Oscar Piastri still has a shot at the title if he wins all the races or outscores Norris by an average of eight points every weekend.

Edited by Pranay Bhagi