#not even lateral

apparently the only source we have for the Oscar rumor is Jos V who has also spread rumors about George, Max and I think even Nando and it's a tactic to put pressure on RB during negotiations, but no neither Oscar nor Mark* is talking to Jos of all people about his plans

EDIT to add that I don’t count a Brazilian news site with no verified sources as confirmation of anything ahsgsjdghs and also they didn’t get the news yet that Buxton’s “big news” was about Indycar not F

SECOND EDIT actual reliable McLaren sources are confirming the rumors fully fake

yes, all drivers almost at all times have private informal talks going on either through management or family members or even themselves but the majority of those moves never get farther than a flicker of passing interest. and tbh Oscar got so badly burned by the Alpine experience that he's not going to be lured into any level of subterfuge easily.

Oscar hasn't done a suspiciously strategic PR denial and he's been categorical about laughing off the rumors, that he wasn't aware of them before the media brought them up and reiterating the same reasons he's always said he wants to stay at McLaren

same with Zak who would have no problem playing a PR game and hedging his bets but who has also categorically said he wants to keep the very special thing he's got with landoscar (he and Lando have both recently said that the championships are a result of the unique collaboration Lando and Oscar have that other teammates rarely if ever have) Zak literally said that every other team owner is jealous of what he has

Max isn't going to go to a customer team and especially not one that would have to pay him less (the salaries at RB are very disproportionate between Max and the second driver and while Zak makes fucking b a n k for McLaren it's another thing entirely to afford Max alongside Lando)

as we now know, GP is taking an entirely different role when he goes to McLaren and wouldn't be working with Max closely anymore anyhow

*people keep on throwing Mark's history w RB into all this and for no reason bc Oscar's specifically changed his role to sponsorships only this year which means Oscar sees no short or mid term need for someone to wheel and deal in the paddock or negotiate his contracts for him anymore apart from legal oversight during re-signing

the MCL is still a front-running team and as great as the b2b WCCs were it was also the worst for having reduced wind tunnel time as a customer team to deal with an entirely new car under brand new regs, so the fact that they're in the mix with manufacturer teams is genuinely very good and it's why Oscar isn't remotely despairing or even all that down (and has said many times they all knew this season would be an adjustment one for customer teams)

the RB on the other hand should be much better than it is and the team as a whole is in a possible rebuild phase or at the very least hugely turbulent and unstable, so why should Oscar swap what he has for something less stable and with a car that's even more baffling and that he'd have to customize to himself from scratch with complete strangers

the RB system in general has so many drivers lined up for seats (including VCARB) that apart from a straight swap with Merc for George, they're unlikely to pluck someone from outside the system

I know some ppl for various reasons took Lando saying he wants to reunite with Carlos in F1 someday as genuine plans or serious intent but the objective take is not only was he fanbaiting literally with Spanish Carlos-adoring fans, and as always knowing that carland0 is the fan favorite, he also wouldn't actually be saying it with any seriousness with Oscar right. next. to. him. like he is not going to openly dictate to Oscar 'oh btw you're going to need to leave in 3-5 years so I can have my old teammate back' I'm sorry but Oscar doesn't put on a publicity mask and if he thought Lando was serious about planning to replace him then he'd gladly ice him out even in mandated PR content. he certainly wouldn't be like he was in their little kart challenge or the beloved Tatler interview.

and as for McLaren, the only way they'd take the frankly enormous risk of putting Max with Lando is if Oscar chose to leave or as Zak said, suffered a career interrupting injury. I won't get into the discourse of it all but going by what Lando himself says, he specifically always wanted a teammate who would be as collaborative and open as he is while also competitive enough to be pushing him constantly. that combination of qualities is basically Oscar and not really any other driver except Lando. it's not remotely normal for an F1 driver to be both of those things. other drivers can possibly be called "good team players" but they would do even a fraction of what Lando and Oscar do as far as sharing and maintaining fairness and equality.

like… there is a reason why Zak, Andrea, Lando, Oscar, their mechanics, their engineers, their regional bosses and the media say that the landoscar teammate dynamic is completely unique. and it's why the media often position them as at the other end of the spectrum to br0cedes and seb-mark.

so no, I truly do not think at this time Oscar's not going to make an entire career change to an unstable team atmosphere that has a long history of musical seats between both teams and who would IMMEDIATELY take Max back should he suddenly want to return. and then Oscar's in Mark's old position but possibly worse.

and he's even more not going to make that career change considering he is fully settled in with McLaren, has a literal once a generation if not rarer thing going with Lando that he will find NOWHERE else (by his and Lando's own words) and when he can clearly see that the MCL has the potential to keep him in touching distance of podiums in the short term and certainly in 2027.

and even if you're someone who thinks McLaren doesn't deserve him or hates him etc (and that's fine as a fan opinion!) that's not how the super practical, calm level-headed non-fame seeking Oscar is basing his decisions. he isn't remotely swayed by the idea of being The Star of The Team which is why he works so well with Lando for off track things bc he's more than happy to stand back and let Lando do much of the publicity and crowd-facing work. as he said himself, 2025 was the ultimate test for himself and Lando and their partnership and if they made it through that then it's solid. and if ever there was an obvious moment where Oscar had wanted to leave it would've been immediately following AD25 (or even Qatar) and if so then he would've been negotiating with teams and started 2026 by pulling away from McLaren commitments and subtly distancing himself from the team in media (like Lewis did before Ferrari and Max is doing now). but not only has he if anything thrown himself even more into McLaren, Lily's literally increased the amount she wears McLaren logos and their sponsor brands to the track at least threefold. she's got no reason or obligation to do any of that at all and it's purely bc he's clearly happy and settled there.

like, it would genuinely be a bad and random ass decision in so many ways and there aren't any upsides to Oscar going to the only available spots on the grid if Max leaves or moves. the smartest most obvious thing to do is stay put and know that this isn't remotely as bad as the 2023 car and he was a part of lifting the team out of the back end alongside Lando and a garage/team that he rubs along with extremely well. it's not even better a bird in the hand bc there are no known birds in any of the bushes askfgsakfgask

anyway I hope this helps ?? yes technically anything can happen and no one knows the future or bts stuff but also even the Lewis move was not as out of the blue as some ppl made it out to be so if Oscar were to make such a random move as to go to RB - or anywhere else that has possible openings in the coming years - there would have to be some reason why that would be better or the only option than McLaren. and nobody can find any of those reasons apart from ppl who just hate McLaren and want Oscar somewhere else and again Oscar doesn't measure his own career prospects the same way his hardcore fans do

the more likely possibilities are Max takes sabbatical and RB bring in someone to essentially fill in from their own system or Max and George swap next year permanently - I think the Fernando retirement and Max taking his seat thing is losing steam bc Fernando keeps trolling and also again why would Max choose to go to a worse car