Oscar Piastri was already under contract this season and next, but earlier this week, news broke that he signed a new multi-year agreement. McLaren did not say how long the contract is, nor did the Australian driver reveal the length during Thursday’s FIA news conference. But he did say, “It felt like just a very natural progression to sign for an even longer term.”
“I think my two years at the team have been pretty incredible—starting from where we were when I joined to being constructors’ champions now,” Piastri said. “It made a lot of sense in my mind to try and continue that and build with the team. Obviously, myself and Lando (Norris) are both there for a long time now. Andrea (Stella) is on a long-term contract, Zak (Brown), the key technical staff as well. So yeah, for me, it seemed like a no-brainer, and I think it was reciprocated from the team as well.”
Piastri scored 97 points and secured two podium finishes during his F1 debut season in 2023, and he thrived last year, securing two wins and eight podium finishes en route to ending the year fourth with 292 points.
Fresh off of its first constructors’ championship since 1998, McLaren is entering the 2025 season as the favorites, though Norris enters qualifying as the favorite over Piastri.
“Testing went pretty well, but you don’t know where everybody stands,” he said Thursday when asked whether this could be the year that an Australian wins the Australian GP. “I think we’re pretty happy with how our test went, but as we’ve said, Melbourne is a completely different track to Bahrain. Weather is going to be different to Bahrain and different every hour, by the look of it.
“So it’s going to be an interesting weekend for sure, but I think hopefully we’re expecting to be somewhere up the front. Whether that’s right at the pointy end, we’ll wait until Saturday, I think.”
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Oscar Piastri signs long-term McLaren contract extension: Why F1 team has moved to secure his future
