Oscar Piastri's multi-year McLaren renewal removes a key piece from the board ahead of Formula 1's next silly season.
An explosive driver market in 2024, sparked by Lewis Hamilton's decision to move from Mercedes to Ferrari, was at odds with the stability that has become a dominant factor in team and driver decisions in recent times.
But last year's antics were preceded by off-season renewals including Piastri's McLaren team-mate Lando Norris - and it is telling that McLaren has repeated the trick 12 months later.
This continues a deliberate strategy as the Zak Brown era has increasingly made long-term driver moves a priority. It first started under Andreas Seidl but has been taken even further by current team principal Andrea Stella, who has been critical in convincing the likes of Norris to buy into the McLaren plan even when its on-track form was weaker.
Stella is a big fan of Piastri - not just Norris - and has always spoken very highly of his capacity to learn and progress quickly. When he and Brown refer to McLaren's drivers as the best line-up in F1, it is not just lip service, it is said with sincere belief.
They are convinced by this driver pairing, so why mess around? Brown called it a "no-brainer" to offer Piastri the renewal. Stella said it means "we have what we need locked in for the long term".
This is good for team morale, for the direction it is travelling, for partners - for everybody. The clarity it brings is also why McLaren has publicised renewals for Brown and Stella in recent months.
The new Piastri deal is not just good for McLaren though. It is a win-win, even more so than it was with Norris given McLaren's competitive position is even stronger than a year ago.
Piastri gets better compensation for becoming a race winner and a driver McLaren can depend on with even greater certainty than before. There's also no better competitive option for Piastri right now, and as he said: "It's a great feeling knowing that I'm part of McLaren's long-term vision."
Feeling wanted has been a key factor in his McLaren journey so far - it's part of what brought him into the team from Alpine in the first place.
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It also shields McLaren from any imminent nonsense that may arise. Piastri's last renewal came towards the end of his rookie season in 2023, and tied him down until the end of 2026. This one presumably runs until the end of 2028 at the earliest.
If Max Verstappen decides to leave Red Bull, as has often been speculated, or the out-of-contract George Russell is prised away from Mercedes, there will be top teams looking to fill seats and Piastri would inevitably be a leading contender.
He was already linked with Red Bull last year, with Helmut Marko and Christian Horner each speaking highly of him, and having gone through this already with Norris, McLaren is probably happy to avoid a repeat. It clearly has no interest in shopping around either so is happy to remove a top seat from the table.
There is another element to consider. Aside from tying the announcement into Piastri's home race, moving so quickly also avoids this becoming a factor in-season.
If all goes to plan, both McLaren drivers will be fighting for wins and the title this year.
That will already be tough enough to manage without any party having the chance to second guess intentions, or rivals sensing an opportunity to swoop for either driver.
