Oscar Piastri signs a new long-term deal with McLaren that will keep him with the F1 team until at least the end of 2026.
After being lured away from Alpine in 2022 with a two year deal, the Australian has impressed in his rookie season keeping him in Papaya for two years longer than expected. The youngest permanent driver on the grid now has the second longest contract – behind World Champion Max Verstappen – showing the faith McLaren has in the rookie.
This deal will see Piastri remain with his teammate Lando Norris until at least 2025, with the latter’s contract ending in two years. Although teams such as Ferrari and Mercedes are after his signature, Norris has yet to come to a decision about his future.
Prior to Formula One the 22 year old Piastri, won the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup, the 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship as well as the 2021 Formula 2 Championship. Despite his young age, he has gained a lot of experience on the track and has collected numerous accolades for his stellar performances.
In his rookie season Piastri has so far managed to get 42 points. He currently sits 11th in the driver rankings as the highest scoring rookie and is only 3 points behind Pierre Gasly in 10th. After a tricky start to the season for McLaren, in which Piastri got a DNF in his first race in Bahrain, the upgrades to his car in race week 10 saw the Aussies significantly shoot up the grid.
The Australian is yet to have a podium finish but in the same week as his upgrades managed to get his highest finish - fourth place at Silverstone, being very unlucky not to make the podium. Though he did stand on the podium after finishing second in the Belgian Grand Prix sprint race, finishing only behind the much more experienced Verstappen. Piastri has also managed six top-ten finishes at tracks such as Hungaroring, Zandvoort, and his home race Melbourne.
Piastri expressed how he is “thrilled to be extending [his] partnership with McLaren for many years” and has the ambition “to be fighting it out at the front of the grid with this team”. This weekend, the Australian driver will receive the same upgrade that got Norris onto the podium in Singapore. The future looks bright for the young Aussie with the confidence of his team being proven through the newly extended contract!
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