McLaren has extended rookie Oscar Piastri’s contract through to the end of 2026.
The deal will keep Piastri and Lando Norris together as teammates for at least two more years, with the latter’s contract running until 2025.
Piastri has impressed in his first F1 season so far, scoring 42 points and finishing second in the sprint race at the Belgian Grand Prix.
The Australian, considered one of the brightest young talents in racing, joined McLaren after a lengthy legal battle between the British team and Alpine, who had initially had him to their driver academy.
Piastri won both the Formula 3 and Formula 2 championships before stepping up to F1.
His first McLaren deal was multi-year, believed to be until the end of 2024, and McLaren has ensured his long-term future will be with the team.
The length of Piastri’s deal is significant as it takes him into F1’s next planned rule change in 2026, suggesting the Australian has faith McLaren can deliver a championship-calibre car under the new regulations.
Team boss Andrea Stella said: “It’s fantastic to confirm that Oscar has signed a multi-year extension with the team. Oscar is an asset to McLaren and constantly impresses with his performance, work ethic and attitude, so it was an easy decision for the team to make.
“He has already proved pivotal to the team, so it’s brilliant to have his vote of confidence as we push to win championships again in the future. I look forward to seeing him develop with us as we continue this journey together.”
McLaren has shown huge improvements from a competitive standpoint this season and company CEO Zak Brown hopes the team can be challenging Red Bull by 2025.
Norris has yet to confirm what his longer term future looks like.
Source: www.espn.com