F1 Oversteer’s readers have sent Oscar Piastri a clear instruction after hearing Johnny Herbert tell the Australian that he should try to “control his own destiny” at McLaren.

Herbert believes Piastri ought to stand up for himself more often at McLaren, but he refutes any allegation that the papaya crew favour Lando Norris over the 25-year-old. McLaren have regularly been accused of preferring Norris in recent years, especially during their title fight.

Piastri opened a commanding 34-point lead over Norris atop the 2025 F1 drivers’ standings after 15 out of the 24 rounds. Yet the wheels then fell off the wagon after McLaren ordered Piastri to return P2 in the 2025 Italian Grand Prix to Norris, having only undercut the Briton as his teammate had let the Australian pit first to prevent an undercut from Charles Leclerc.

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F1 Oversteer’s readers tell Oscar Piastri to leave McLaren instead of proving he can lead the team

The suggestion that the Woking outfit favour Norris has since hung over CEO Zak Brown, but Herbert believes it is simply wrong to suggest McLaren do not treat Piastri fairly. Instead, the Briton thinks the Australian has to push his case and convince Brown that he can actually be McLaren’s leader, as his agent Mark Webber tried to do while at Red Bull from 2007 to 2013.

Herbert told Vision4Sport, which offers luxury superyacht hospitality packages: “Sometimes, yes, Oscar has to [stand up for himself at McLaren]. You’ve got to be verbal and push your mentality that you want to be the team leader.

“McLaren are very good at being fair. Some people say they favour Lando, but I don’t think that’s the reality within McLaren. I think there is a definite desire to distribute all the development work on both drivers.

“Oscar has to steer the direction of that development so he benefits from it. He’s got to work very hard with the engineers and Brown to make them believe that is the right thing to do.

“He’s in a good place, but he has to dig deep and control his own destiny, just like Mark Webber had to do [at Red Bull].”

Yet F1 Oversteer’s readers on Facebook believe Piastri should look to leave McLaren, rather than aiming to prove to Brown and team principal Andrea Stella that he can be their leader.

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One F1 Oversteer reader has suggested that Piastri should “leave the toxic environment” at McLaren, while another reader feels the Australian needs to “go to a better team!” Another F1 fan has also claimed that Piastri ought to “move to Audi” as soon as they have a vacancy, while one reader thinks Piastri should “leave McLaren and join Max Verstappen” at Red Bull.

The idea that Piastri should “change teams” is widely held among F1 Oversteer’s readers on Facebook, with another F1 fan also suggesting: “Leave! Piastri will never be allowed to fulfil his potential there while daddy Norris and uncle Zak pull the team strings.”

One F1 Oversteer reader even suggested in response to Herbert’s advice for Piastri: “Leave that British team. They have got no idea. The Brits can’t manage an F1 team. Norris is a paid driver, Piastri is not.”

Piastri has drawn interest from Red Bull in the recent past, but they are locked in with Max Verstappen through 2030 and Isack Hadjar through 2027. Audi have been linked with Piastri, as well, but they are committed to Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto for at least 2027.