McLaren’s rising star Oscar Piastri has extended his commitment to the team by signing a new multi-year contract.
His previous deal was due to run until the end of next year. The latest extension will ensure he continues to drive for McLaren until at least 2028.Piastri scored his first two Formula 1 grand prix victories last year. He will remain alongside Lando Norris, who also has a long-term deal to drive for McLaren.
McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said the team, which won the constructors’ championship last year, has the strongest pairing on the grid.
“It’s fantastic to confirm Oscar’s extension with McLaren,” said Brown. “Not only is he an incredibly talented driver, but his work ethic and cultural fit within the team made it a no-brainer to extend his time in papaya.
“We’ve got the best driver line-up on the grid, and in the past two seasons, we’ve seen how much of an asset to the team Oscar is both on and off track. He was absolutely fundamental in adding to our legacy with the 2024 constructors’ championship last season, so we’re all excited to see what we can do in the years to come as we continue to fight for world championships together.”
Piastri, 23, will start his third season in F1 this weekend in his home city, Melbourne. He made his grand prix debut with McLaren in 2023 after leaving Alpine’s junior squad the previous year.
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“It’s a great feeling knowing that I’m part of McLaren’s long-term vision,” he said. “The team had the belief in me when we signed in 2022, and the journey we’ve gone on over the past two seasons to help return McLaren to the very top of the sport has been incredible.”
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BasCB (@bascb)
11th March 2025, 21:38
Makes sense. He’s shown his talent and potential in the last 2 years. And signing him on early shows they want him part of the team. It might also help the team be better able to make sure their drivers do as they want if it comes to any team orders during the season, something they must be thinking about needing if their car is where most expect it to be.
Mal Ross (@malross)
11th March 2025, 21:55
Great news for Piastri, but tough luck for Pato O’Ward. 🙁
Wonder whether McLaren would let him go to Cadillac if they approach him (or vice versa). Last thing he wants is to continue just getting the odd test day or FP1 outing knowing he has no hope of getting a full-time drive in the McLaren.
Jere (@jerejj)
12th March 2025, 7:09
I’m sure they’d be perfectly okay to release him just as they were with Bortoleto.
Edvaldo
11th March 2025, 22:16
Third season, brand new deal, top car.
I hope he finally realizes the promise and becomes as fast as Norris, he has everything he needs to succeed. If he’s still half a second slower 3 out of 5 times like it has been until now, then it will be worrying.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
12th March 2025, 0:01
True, but I suppose this decision by mclaren makes sense on current form, as in even if piastri doesn’t become as fast as norris (doubt he ever will) he’s still good enough for a number 2 role in the team, and generally when there’s a tight battle for the championship having a clear number 1 is an advantage.
El Pollo Loco
12th March 2025, 2:02
Exactly my thoughts, Esploratore. I think McLaren are locking in their high grade #2 as a perfect compliment to Lando. I hope he proves more than that though because I really like Oscar. I think he’d also be a much exciting racer to watch battling at the front.
Hill (@pzero)
12th March 2025, 20:42
I believe he will. In one of his interviews he clearly stated that he needs to improve his Q speed for that final push. He was determined and confident he could do this. So, he gets the benefit of the doubt for me.
Johns
12th March 2025, 0:09
Some reports suggest teams have moved to running a lot of antidive, but coupled with pusrod front suspendion could make for a harsh ride over the curbs. We ll see in a few. Days who tot it right
pastaman
12th March 2025, 0:37
Can you imagine him wasting away at Alpine right now?
El Pollo Loco
12th March 2025, 2:03
They’re hardly Sauber and he’s hardly proven to be the next Max, Lewis or Alonso.
Rhys Lloyd (@justrhysism)
12th March 2025, 2:56
Your standard for a top-tier driver is absurd.
By your logic, any driver who isn’t as good as one of the three greatest drivers of all time basically isn’t worth anything? Norris and Leclerc: send to the back! Utterly nonsensical. Immature.
The real world is nuanced.
Piastri is a top-tier driver. He has demonstrated that on numerous occasions, the most pertinent example is Baku 2024.
El Pollo Loco
12th March 2025, 6:56
I didn’t say or imply that. He is very good, but the idea Piastri’s so good that driving for a team that’ll likely be competing for best of the rest (non-top 4) would be “wasting away” is ridiculous. Hell, besides lucky Lewy, two of those three drivers names have driven for less competitive teams than Alpine.
El Pollo Loco
12th March 2025, 7:00
named*
Rhys Lloyd (@justrhysism)
12th March 2025, 2:59
I anticipate that Alpine will finish 10th. And Doohan will get the flick because even good drivers look terrible in awful cars—he’ll never get the chance to show us if he is any good.
El Pollo Loco
12th March 2025, 6:59
Have you been paying attention to testing or where Alpine was at the end of the year? Alpine’s looking very strong. Likely the favorite for fifth best team. Besides, if you have a proven benchmark in the team next to you, you can always prove how good you are no matter how bad the team.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
12th March 2025, 19:46
I think it very highly unlikely Alpine will finish tenth. They might be anywhere between fifth and eighth I expect but tenth, I cannot see.
Sumedh
12th March 2025, 3:02
Interesting. So his contract length now extends beyond Norris?
Wise decision by Mclaren. Both these drivers are young and will get faster. Plus, locking them up early results in prudent cost management. And I am sure after burning his hands with Ricciardo, Zak has built in reasonable escape clauses (in case any driver has a downfall).
Jere (@jerejj)
12th March 2025, 7:17
McLaren was already & is with this announcement even more so, a team where driver changes aren’t going to happen or are highly unlikely in the foreseeable future unless something more drastic happens & for that matter, the same applies to almost all current teams since more or less all are pretty set with drivers for the medium to long term.
Mog
12th March 2025, 8:04
I hope he didn’t let them slip a number 2 driver clause into his contract. He is fast and will be better than Norris.
Jack
12th March 2025, 11:32
Thinking exactly the same, hopefully Webber looked through the contract twice.
It was interesting last year how that clause seem to catch the team out, were they not expecting him to be that competitive so agreed to it because it was no issue.
Elvira
13th March 2025, 14:21
Judging by 2024 that’s just not the culture Stella is fostering.
MichaelN
12th March 2025, 8:43
Seems a bit odd, but as a pairing they are solid and worth keeping. Still, Piastri was thoroughly outpaced by Norris, and even if the qualifying head to head is a bit deceptive as it was very close on time, the “he will only get better” argument doesn’t have a whole lot of great examples to point to. The champions of the last decades have been quick, albeit erratic, from day one.
That’s not to say it’s a bad move. There aren’t a whole lot of others from this generation that could undoubtedly do a better job.
Mr Squiggle
13th March 2025, 1:43
It’s an interesting point about champions being quick from day one.
Norris wasn’t quick from day one and until Miami last year was AKA Lando no wins.
For my money, there is no way Oscar has agreed to be number 2 to Lando in the contract extension.
El Pollo Loco
14th March 2025, 21:56
Norris was quick from day one. People underestimated Sainz at the time. So, that played a role in people underestimating what he achieved by basically being his equal. Also, Norris is tier 2 elite. Not tier 1, like our existing champions, which is borne out by the fact that he was as fast as Sainz as a rookie but not beating him while the best three were on par or faster than existing legends rookies (for Max, it was more like his second season, but he was so utterly raw, skipping almost every junior formula category in his jump to F1, using his rookie season is a bit misleading).
Biggsy
12th March 2025, 10:20
This seems like a bit of a lack of ambition from McLaren. Norris and Piastri are hardly the best pairing on the grid.
For a team that is likely to be the class of the field, this is a bit underwhelming lineup. They definitely don’t have a driver who can carry them when they drop a ball. Norris is really only as good as the car is, and Piastri is often slower then him still. One impression I got last year, is that Norris is never going to win a race by pulling some unbelievable performance like Schumacher, Alonso, Hamilton, or Max are known for. Schumacher and Alonso are especially known for making a credible title challenge out of any chance they get. Max showed last year that even when the car isn’t all there, he’s not gonna drop a single point without a fight.
All in all, this feels like a lineup of the Bottases. Very good, and very fast, sometimes as fast as the best of them, but just not capable of mounting a season-long challenge.
I do think they’ll win the WDC this year, because McLaren seems so far ahead, but what are they gonna do in 2026, if the field is much different?
Leo B
12th March 2025, 17:05
I’m fully expecting Piastri to up his race pace above the rest this season. He is already ahead in pretty much all other criteria.