Oscar Piastri has signed a deal that Mail Sport can reveal is worth £20million (AU$41m) a year to remain as Lando Norris’s McLaren team-mate until the end of the decade.

What is officially termed a ‘multi-year contract’ transforms the 23-year-old Australian’s financial fortunes at a stroke and esentially puts him on a par with Norris – a major boost for Piastri ahead of the opening race of the season in his home city of Melbourne on Sunday.

McLaren chief executive Zak Brown was keen to cement his driver line-up with rivals interested in poaching Piastri, whose existing deal was due to expire at the end of next year.

Red Bull’s Christian Horner is among those who have expressed admiration for his talents, saying he regretted not bringing him into his organisation at an earlier juncture.

Piastri’s new contract at the reigning world champions has accumulator clauses built into it that could see his earnings rise even further, especially through bonuses that would accrue with title successes.

Both he and Norris are now tied to the Woking-based team for the peak years of their careers.

Austrlian Formula One star Oscar Piastri has signed a new deal to stay with McLaren until the end of the decade

Piastri (left) has agreed a deal worth £20million (AU$41m) a year to stay at the Woking-based team, putting him on par with team-mate Lando Norris (right)

McLaren chief executive Zak Brown (right) was keen to cement his driver line-up with rivals interested in poaching Piastri (left)

Piastri moved from Australia to Europe aged 15 to purse his motor racing dream, finishing his school studies as a boarder at Haileybury in Hertfordshire.

He won the Formula Two and Three titles and is widely viewed as one of the grid’s most talented young performers, taking two grand prix victories and 10 podiums in his two Formula One campaigns.

Piastri said: ‘It’s great knowing I’m part of McLaren’s long-term vision. I’m excited to fight for the big prizes and last year’s fantastic achievements have made me even hungrier.’

Brown commended Oscar’s worth ethic, adding: ‘His cultural fit within the team made it a no-brainer to extend his time in papaya.

‘We’ve got the best driver line-up on the grid, and in the past two seasons, we’ve seen how much of an asset to the team Oscar is both on and off track.’