Oscar Piastri Will Race For McLaren Next Season

After a lot of drama through the summer, Oscar Piastri has his ride for next season.

It's official: he'll be in a McLaren.

The news comes after McLaren and Alpine both claimed to have the highly-touted Australian driver under contract. The FIA Contract Recognition Board announced its ruling between Friday practice sessions ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.

Oscar Piastri signs an autograph for a McLaren fan who is undoubtedly very excited about the news that the highly-touted Aussie will drive for McLaren next season. (Photo by Bryn Lennon - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)

"A Tribunal appointed by the Contract Recognition Board held a meeting on 29 August 2022 when counsel for Alpine Racing Limited, McLaren Racing Limited and Mr Oscar Piastri were heard," the announcement reads. "The Tribunal has issued a Unanimous Decision that the only Contract to be recognised by the Board is the Contract between McLaren Racing Limited and Mr Piastri dated 4 July 2022.

"Mr Piastri is entitled to drive for McLaren Racing Limited for the 2023 and 2024 seasons."

Piastri will partner with current McLaren driver Lando Norris. They'll make for a formidable pair so long as the team gives them a car that's a little more manageable than this year's MCL36.

News that the former Formula 2 and Formula 3 champion has his ride for next season should allow a series of other driver market dominos to fall.

Ricciardo Says He Was Not Aware Of The Piastri Deal, McLaren Seems To Say He Was

The Contract Recognition Board's announcement mentions that McLaren's deal with Piastri dates to July 4.

That's weird because, on July 13, current McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo indicated his plan to stick with the team until the end of his contract which includes the 2023 season.

So, did McLaren leave Ricciardo dark about the deal with Piastri? According to Motorsport.com, Ricciardo said that he and team brass like McLaren CEO Zak Brown and team principal were discussing his future, but he was not aware of the contract with Piastri until later.

"On the date, that's the first I've heard," Ricciardo said. "I'm not aware of timelines and this and that, and what the team's discussing."

However, Seidl painted a picture of a more transparent process with Ricciardo.

"Yeah, obviously, we don't go into the detail of what was in the contract that we signed with Oscar," the team principal said. "But regarding Daniel, as we have communicated last week, I think throughout this year, Zak and myself, together with Daniel, had an open and transparent dialogue at any time of where we both are. And therefore there's no issue in that aspect."

Ricciardo has quite a few options for next season both on the F1 grid and in other series.

When it comes to drama — on and off the track — Formula 1 doesn't disappoint.

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