Mercedes signs Antonelli for 2025, McLaren extends Piastri through 2027—$80M in driver capital deployed before 2026 rules arrive
Three teams already locked their technical cores. The 2026 chassis freeze means whoever guessed wrong on aero philosophy is buying out contracts in May.
Published September 8, 2026Source Formula 1 / Formula 1 / Formula 1From the chopped neck
Mercedes signs Antonelli for 2025, McLaren extends Piastri through 2027—$80M in driver capital deployed before 2026 rules arrive
Three teams already locked their technical cores. The 2026 chassis freeze means whoever guessed wrong on aero philosophy is buying out contracts in May.
Mercedes announced Andrea Kimi Antonelli will drive alongside George Russell starting in 2025, effective immediately after the Abu Dhabi finale. McLaren, within six hours, extended Oscar Piastri's contract through the end of 2027, pushing his deal two seasons beyond the original 2025 expiry. Combined guaranteed compensation across both deals approaches $80 million, before performance escalators. Red Bull Racing remains silent on Sergio Pérez's 2025 status but has not extended his contract past December.
The moves arrive fourteen months before F1's 2026 technical regulations take effect—new power units, revised aerodynamic surfaces, 35 kg lighter minimum weight, active aero elements on front and rear wings. Every constructor submitted preliminary chassis concepts to the FIA in March. None will know if their interpretation is correct until the first Barcelona shakedown in February 2026. Mercedes and McLaren have now locked their driver pairings through that unknown.
Antonelli, 18 years old, won the Formula 2 feature race at Monza in September by 4.7 seconds, overtaking Isack Hadjar on lap 12 and holding position through two safety cars. Toto Wolff attended the podium ceremony. Antonelli tested Mercedes' 2022 W13 chassis at the Red Bull Ring in August, completing 127 laps over two days with no offs. His promotion skips Formula 1's traditional reserve-driver season. Piastri, now 23, has scored 291 points across two seasons with McLaren, including four podiums in 2024. His extension carries him to age 26—the age at which Max Verstappen won his third title.
The 2026 power unit homologation window closes in April 2025. After that date, no constructor may alter its core architecture until 2030. Ferrari has publicly committed to a split-turbo design, Red Bull Powertrains to a more conventional layout, Mercedes to unspecified "electrical prioritization." Which philosophy pairs best with the new chassis rules remains unproven. If Mercedes or McLaren guessed incorrectly, they will enter 2026 with locked driver rosters and $80 million in sunk costs before the first race. Contract buyouts in the middle of a regulation cycle cost more. Williams paid $20 million to release Logan Sargeant mid-2024. Alpine is still servicing Esteban Ocon's departure.
Betting markets for the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix, held in June, listed Max Verstappen at 1.50 odds, Lando Norris at 4.50, Charles Leclerc at 7.00, Lewis Hamilton at 11.00, and Carlos Sainz at 13.00. Verstappen won. The 2025 Spanish Grand Prix markets, opening in late November, will reflect these signings. Early futures for the 2026 Drivers' Championship will likely list Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Russell, and Antonelli as the top five. Leclerc will appear if Ferrari's power unit does not detonate in testing.
Mercedes has not won a Constructors' Championship since 2021. McLaren has not won one since 1998. Both teams are now betting their 2026 campaigns on drivers who will have spent one season (Antonelli) or four seasons (Piastri) in F1 before the new rules arrive. Red Bull, by contrast, will enter 2026 with Verstappen having ten seasons of experience and a contract through 2028. If Pérez departs, Red Bull has Liam Lawson under contract through 2026 and Isack Hadjar in the Red Bull junior program.
Piastri's deal runs through 2027, one year beyond the initial 2026 regulation cycle. That suggests McLaren believes its 2026 chassis concept is strong enough to justify locking down its technical core—Andrea Stella remains Team Principal, Peter Prodromou remains Technical Director—before the regulations prove anyone correct. Mercedes' choice to promote Antonelli over retaining Hamilton (now at Ferrari) or pursuing Carlos Sainz (now at Williams) indicates the team prefers youth over experience in an unproven era.
The FIA will release 2026 chassis technical illustrations in December.Constructors may still adjust front wing endplate angles and rear diffuser kick-up points until the April homologation freeze. After that, the only variables are driver skill, pit strategy, and whether anyone's aero philosophy actually works. Mercedes and McLaren have already chosen their drivers. The wind tunnel will deliver the verdict.
The takeaway
**$80M** in driver capital deployed before anyone knows if their 2026 chassis works—contract buyouts cost more after Barcelona testing.
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