Signing new McLaren F1 deal a "no-brainer" - Piastri

Oscar Piastri says it was a "no-brainer" for him to agree to a long-term contract extension with the McLaren Formula 1 team.

Despite Piastri's contract not expiring until the end of the 2026 season, he and McLaren made short work of agreeing a new multi-year deal that will extend the Australian's stay for an undefined number of seasons.

The new deal ensures both Piastri and Norris remain attached to the world championship-winning outfit well into the 2026 regulations cycle, preventing other teams from sniffing around McLaren's driver pairing and causing distractions.

In his first response to his new deal ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, Piastri said extending his stay at the Woking team felt "natural" given the team's upward trajectory, which has yielded his first two grand prix wins last year.

"I was already signed up for this year and the next, but it felt like just a very natural progression to sign for even longer term," Piastri said ahead of his home race in Melbourne.

"Obviously, last year was an incredible year for the team. I think my two years for the team has been pretty incredible, starting from where we were when I joined to being constructors' champions.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

"Now it made a lot of sense in my mind to try and continue that and build with the team. Me and Lando are both there for a long time now, Andrea [Stella, team principal] is on a long term contract. Zak [Brown, CEO] and key technical staff as well.

"So for me, it seems like a no-brainer, and I think it was reciprocated from the team as well."

Piastri arrived at his home race with what many observers are expecting is the car to beat. But as Australian fans and media are building up excitement, the 23-year-old is keeping his expectations in check.

"I know what you want me to say, and everyone's headline could be that, but we'll see," he said. "No one really knows what to expect. Testing went pretty well but you don't know where everybody sits.

"But Melbourne is a completely different track to Bahrain, the weather is going to be different to Bahrain - and different every hour, by the look of things, so it's going to be an interesting weekend.

"We're expecting to be somewhere up the front, whether that's right at the pointy end, we'll wait until Saturday, I think."