How Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri cost McLaren $2.3million in 2025

A straight faced Zak Brown is flanked by a smiling Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris — Photo: © IMAGO

How Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri cost McLaren $2.3million in 2025

The two champions are victims of their own success

Originally written by Sam Cook. This version is a translation.

Sunday 4 January 2026 21:00

McLaren are going to have to pay an extra $2.3million after their drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri both competed for the title in 2025.

Norris won the championship in 2025, defeating Max Verstappen by two points, while Piastri finished 11 points further back.

All of this success for the three drivers has come at some cost, however. Drivers have to have a superlicence at the start of each year to be able to compete in F1, and the standard price for that is €11,842 ($13,888).

Article continues under video

However, you also get charged €2,392 ($2,805) per championship point you pick up throughout the season before, meaning drivers are very much a victim of their own success.

For Norris and Verstappen, that means that they will be charged over $1.2million in order to be able to compete in next season's championship, while Oscar Piastri is set to be charged $1.1million.

As they didn't compete last season, Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas and Arvid Lindblad will all be charged the standard amount of €11,842, as will Franco Colapinto, who failed to pick up a single point throughout the 2025 season.

What is an FIA superlicence?

To be able to compete in the F1 championship, a driver must have a super licence, which is issued by the FIA.

The FIA issue different licences for different motorsport competitions, such as endurance or karting, but F1's licence is the top level that you can obtain.

Several factors need to be ticked off for a driver to qualify for a super licence, according to the FIA's International Sporting Code.

This includes being 18 (unless special dispensation is awarded), passing a knowledge theory test, and holding at least 40 super licence points, which are awarded by various FIA racing series around the world.

The drivers are charged entrance fees at the start of each season for their superlicence, however, and this goes towards the FIA governance of the racing series.

F1 Max Verstappen McLaren FIA Lando Norris Oscar Piastri