Oscar Piastri says he has been left "reassured" following talks with McLaren, despite rumours that they could replace him with Max Verstappen.

Both Piastri and Verstappen have endured poor 2026 campaigns to date.

While Verstappen is seventh in the drivers' championship standings, having only had two podium finishes compared to three retirements this year, Piastri is sixth.

The Australian, who led the title battle for long periods of 2025 before missing out to team-mate Lando Norris, is only six points better off than Verstappen and has failed to make the podium at any of the last five races.

Verstappen has refused to commit to Red Bull beyond the end of this season and has even hinted he could walk away from the sport altogether, after becoming disillusioned with regulation changes and his team's failure to provide a competitive car.

But a switch to McLaren has also been mooted for the four-time world champion, who has a break clause in his contract allowing him to talk to other teams if he is not first or second in the standings by the summer break, in two races' time. 

If such a deal were to come to fruition, it has been reported that McLaren would be open to sending Piastri the other way.

However, when asked if he was confident of driving for McLaren next year, Piastri told reporters: "Yes. I didn't realise it was a point of contention, but yes.

"Zak [Brown, McLaren CEO] and Andrea [Stella, team principal] and the whole team have been great through all that, very reassuring. I've been the same for them.

"Clearly, Max is feeling… I don't know, maybe he's not in a great position at the moment, or he's exploring his options. 

"It was the same thing last year with him and Mercedes, so it's nothing new.

"But I'm very happy with where I'm at, where things are at, and how it's all going."

The F1 season continues this weekend with the Belgian Grand Prix, a race that Piastri won in 2025 and Verstappen won on three straight occasions from 2021 to 2023.