In the weeks before the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix, back in October of 2023, McLaren CEO Zak Brown looked me square in the eye and made a straightforward declaration about the team’s driver pairing of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

To ward off interest from its Formula 1 rivals, McLaren will shell out a massive $20 million a year to Oscar Piastri with his new deal, according to a report. Piastri’s former deal was approximately worth $6 million a year and ran until the end of 2026.