Oscar Piastri: McLaren driver signs new contract extension until at least 2028 with reigning F1 constructors' champions ahead of Australian GP

Oscar Piastri and McLaren have agreed a contract extension ahead of the new F1 season; watch the season-opening Australian GP on Sky Sports F1 from Friday, with the race live at 4am on Sunday

By Nigel Chiu, Digital Sports Journalist @NigelCJourno

Oscar Piastri talks to Sky Sports News at an Airwallex event about his hopes for the new F1 season after signing a contract extension with McLaren.

Oscar Piastri has signed a contract extension with McLaren that will keep him with the team until at least 2028.

Piastri started racing for McLaren in 2023 having signed the previous year, and has agreed a new multi-year deal on top of his current contract which runs until 2026.

The announcement, which comes ahead of this weekend's season-opening Australian Grand Prix live on Sky Sports, means Piastri and Lando Norris will be team-mates at McLaren for the next three seasons, as Norris' contract expires at the end of 2027.

"It's a great feeling knowing that I'm part of McLaren's long-term vision. 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," said Piastri.

"There are so many talented and special people working at MTC who have helped me to become a Formula 1 race winner very early in my career. Therefore, I'm very proud to be continuing to represent this legendary team for many years to come.

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"I'm excited to fight for the big prizes as a McLaren driver and after last year's fantastic achievements, it has made me even hungrier to stay at the sharp end."

Oscar Piastri feels McLaren proved last season that they’re a team to be reckoned with and says him and Lando Norris have a lot of respect for each other which is why they work so well together
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri say they have a 'lot of confidence' in themselves to fight for a F1 championship title this season

Piastri has won two races in his F1 career, last year's Hungarian and Azerbaijan Grands Prix, and is among the title favourites for this season with McLaren expected to have a strong car.

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Speaking to Sky Sports News in Melbourne in the hours after his new deal was confirmed at an event for McLaren partner Airwallex, Piastri said it was a "very easy decision" for him to sign the extended term.

Oscar Piastri is hoping for 'more success' after signing a new multi-year contract extension with McLaren ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

McLaren are the reigning constructors' champions and head into the new campaign as favourites for both world titles this year, although Piastri played down the suggestion the fight for the drivers' crown could purely be between himself and Norris.

"I think that's a bit far fetched [to think McLaren will be far ahead of everyone else], yes," said Piastri.

"It's going to be a really tight season, We had a good test in Bahrain but you never know what everyone else is hiding and who's got what until we get to this weekend

"I'm expecting it to be just as tight as it was at the end of last season but hopefully we can be in the mix from round one."

'We've got the best driver line-up on the grid'

McLaren are the reigning constructors' champions and chief executive Zak Brown says his team have the best driver pairing on the grid.

"It's fantastic to confirm Oscar's extension with McLaren. 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," said Brown.

McLaren's Oscar Piastri unpacks life in Formula 1 by answering the 12 questions you've always wanted to ask an F1 driver

"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."

Oscar Piastri's career in F1

  • Age: 23 (born April 6, 2021)
  • F1 debut: 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix
  • Race starts: 46
  • Pole positions: 0
  • Race wins: 2 (2024 Hungarian and Azerbaijan GP)
  • Highest championship finish: 4th
Karun Chandhok takes a look back at the Azerbaijan GP to see how Oscar Piastri claimed victory

Will Piastri and Norris continue to work in unison?

Norris and Piastri appear to have a good relationship in the two seasons spent together as team-mates but there were tense moments last year.

At the Hungarian Grand Prix, Norris was told repeatedly to let Piastri through during the latter stages of the race after he undercut his team-mate in the pit stops. Eventually, Norris let Piastri through with three laps to go so the Australian won his maiden F1 race.

Listen in on the radio messages from McLaren throughout the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix, which was controversially won by Oscar Piastri

Six weeks later in Monza, Piastri overtook Norris on the opening lap of the Italian Grand Prix when the pair were in first and second. In doing so, Norris also lost out to Charles Leclerc and the Ferrari driver went on to take victory.

After that incident, McLaren declared Norris would get priority for the remainder of the season due to his position in the Drivers' Championship. However, at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Norris slowed down Sergio Perez to help Piastri and the latter won the race.

Davidson: McLaren may have a nice problem in 2025

Sky Sports F1's Anthony Davidson

"I love this driver line-up. It's young, it's fresh and with that brings committed, spirited driving. It often brings a few downsides, like we saw last year, a few sticky moments between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

"But the team have just about got on top of that now. You could see the surprise in quite a young team last year. It's a problem but a nice problem to have.

"Naturally great drivers arrive at a great team and I think this year you could be seeing a few more moments arise where, if they are in the most competitive car and there's a bit of a gap between them and others, we know that they run each other hard and it suddenly becomes much more personal in that intra-team battle between the drivers. That's definitely one to watch."

"Further extending our partnership with Oscar is a symbol of our belief and trust in him as a driver, as well as a reflection of our shared ambition to continue in our fight for Championships together," said team principal Andrea Stella.

"It has been a pleasure working with Oscar throughout the past two seasons and he has continued to prove how impressive he is in terms of his talent, determination and work ethic as a driver and his contribution to our team and culture as a person.

"Alongside Lando, we have what we need locked in for the long term to keep pushing forward. I look forward to continuing to watch Oscar grow and develop as a driver and know that many successes lie ahead for him."

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Sky Sports F1's live Australian GP schedule

Thursday March 13

  • 2.30am: Drivers' Press Conference
  • 5am: The F1 Show: Lights Out 2025*
  • 9.45pm: F3 Practice
  • 10.55pm: F2 Practice

Friday March 14

  • 1am: Australian GP Practice One (session begins at 1.30am)*
  • 2.55am: F3 Qualifying*
  • 3.40am: Team Principals' Press Conference
  • 4.45am: Australian GP Practice Two (session begins at 5am)*
  • 6.25am: F2 Qualifying*
  • 7.15am: The F1 Show*

Saturday March 15

  • 12.10am: F3 Sprint*
  • 1.10am: Australian GP Practice Three (session begins at 1.30am)*
  • 3.10am: F2 Sprint*
  • 4.15am: Australian GP Qualifying build-up*
  • 5am: AUSTRALIAN GP QUALIFYING*
  • 7am: Ted's Qualifying Notebook*
    7.30am: Australian GP Qualifying Replay* (9am on Sky Showcase)
  • 9.55pm: F3 Feature Race*

Sunday March 16

  • 12.25am: F2 Feature Race*
  • 2.30am: Australian GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
  • 4am: THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX*
  • 6am: Australian GP reaction: Chequered Flag*
  • 7am: Ted's Notebook*
  • 7.55am: Australian GP race replay
  • 10am: Australian GP highlights (also on Sky Showcase)
  • 7pm: Villeneuve Pironi - Racing's Untold Tragedy

*Also on Sky Sports Main Event

Watch all 24 race weekends from the 2025 Formula 1 season live on Sky Sports F1, starting with the Australian GP on March 14-16. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - No contract, cancel anytime

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