The 2025 Formula 1 season is about to kick off but the driver’s market has already sprung into life after McLaren announced the extension of Oscar Piastri’s contract.
Piastri made his debut for McLaren at the beginning of the 2023 F1 season after being involved in an initial contract dispute with Alpine.
McLaren poached the Australian from their Anglo-French rivals after he won the Formula 2 championship and wasn’t offered an immediate race seat.
While Zak Brown’s team weren’t exactly flying when Piastri made his debut, they’ve since gone from the back of the grid to winning last year’s constructors’ championship.
Piastri initially signed a McLaren contract extension halfway through his maiden campaign with team principal Andrea Stella realising his incredible potential.
Two Grand Prix victories followed in 2024, with Piastri pulling off the overtake of the season to win in Azerbaijan.
Ahead of the Australian Grand Prix and with thousands of his fans ready to cheer him on, Piastri had committed his future to McLaren for the foreseeable future, extending a deal that initially ran until the end of next year.
A report from journalist Lawrence Barretto on Formula 1’s official website has provided more details on the background ahead of Piastri’s latest agreement.
It turns out Red Bull – who have 282 F1 podiums to their name – had been sniffing around the 23-year-old wondering whether they could sign one of the most exciting drivers on the grid.
Red Bull spent ‘months’ chasing Oscar Piastri deal before signing McLaren extension
Barretto reports that it was unsurprising that many of McLaren’s rivals were sizing up a potential move for Piastri.
His ‘sources’ suggest that Red Bull had admirers of Piastri ‘for several months’ and ‘were keen to bring him over’.
However, just like McLaren tied up Norris’ future ahead of the 2024 season when they sensed a seismic shift in the driver’s market following Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari, Brown and Stella knew they had to act quickly again with Max Verstappen’s future far from certain.
READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links
Both McLaren and Piastri were in strong positions to negotiate, with the team knowing that they currently have the best package in the paddock if the Australian wants to become a world champion.
Helmut Marko has long admired Piastri and would have been keen on signing him for Red Bull if the opportunity arose.
Marko even requested a meeting with Mark Webber last year who acts as Piastri’s manager although that wasn’t necessarily about trying to poach the young Aussie.
Oscar Piastri sees McLaren contract extension as ‘incredibly exciting’
Speaking after the deal was announced to the team’s website in a press statement, Piastri said: “As a team, we are in a strong place. “We have gained some confidence and gained experience in the last 12 months of how to be a race-winning and championship-winning team again.
“For myself, being part of that environment is incredibly exciting. I feel like I have all the tools at my disposal now, which I don’t think I necessarily felt 12 months ago.
“It’s now about making sure I use them all the time and put my best foot forward as often as I can. I’ve got confidence from getting wins under my belt – so I know I can do it. It’s just about trying to do that more often.
| Category | Lando Norris | Oscar Piastri |
| 2024 points | 374 | 292 |
| Grand Prix results | 16 | 8 |
| Grand Prix qualifying | 20 | 4 |
| Grand Prix wins | 4 | 2 |
| Grand Prix poles | 8 | 0 |
| Grand Prix podiums | 13 | 8 |
| Best finish | 1st | 1st |
| Retirements | 1 | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 6 | 1 |
| Grand Prix points finishes | 23 | 23 |
| Sprint results | 3 | 3 |
| Sprint Qualifying | 4 | 2 |
| Sprint wins | 1 | 1 |
| Sprint poles | 2 | 1 |
| Sprint podiums | 4 | 3 |
“I’m confident I’ve got what it takes this year and hopefully we can come out with a strong car at the beginning of the season and start our year on the right foot.”
READ MORE: McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s life outside F1 from height to girlfriend
A report from Motorsport explained why Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has never hidden his admiration for Piastri, they were considering making a ‘weighty offer’ to secure his services.
This suggests that either they weren’t fully convinced by Liam Lawson when they hired him to replace Sergio Perez, or they’re more concerned than they’re letting on about the prospect of Verstappen leaving.
