The Australian driver, Oscar Piastri claimed a pole during the FP2 session at the Suzuka circuit. This season, McLaren is off to a better start than their previous season, as they have scored points in all three races. With a decent start to the ongoing weekend, Piastri is aiming to replicate his Melbourne exploits.
During the 2023 campaign, McLaren had a double podium in Japan with Oscar Piastri in second place and Lando Norris finishing in the third position. The Suzuka circuit has proven favorable for the Woking-based team in the past. The characteristics of the circuit align perfectly with the MCL38.
While talking about the team’s performance and expectations for the weekend, Piastri had the following to say.
I think we’ve got a competitive car. It’ll be interesting to see if we can replicate the pace we had in Australia. Obviously, [Suzuka] was a good track for us last year, but I feel like other people have gained some more strength. We’ll see what we can do, but I think we’re reasonably optimistic we can be close to the front. Oscar Piastri said: speedcafe.com
McLaren despite its progress, is still behind the lights of Ferrari and Red Bull. However, a strong result is not too difficult for the team, as they have a good pace this year, moreover, with the right strategy and a bit of luck, they might be able to pull off a double podium. Time will tell whether or not McLaren will pull off last year’s heroics at the Suzuka circuit.
Oscar Piastri believes Red Bull is still ‘the team to beat’ in F1
While Oscar Piastri is keeping a positive outlook for the ongoing race weekend, ahead of it, he stated that Red Bull is still out of reach for McLaren. Ferrari has improved significantly this year and they are currently the second-fastest team behind Red Bull.
The 23-year-old feels the upcoming two days could prove challenging for him and Lando Norris.
I expect Red Bull to be the team to beat this weekend too. I think even in training in Melbourne "Ferrari looked incredibly strong and Max still qualified on pole position. So I think they are still the team to beat. I think Ferrari will be strong too and I hope we can be competitive. But I believe that Max and Red Bull still will be ahead. Oscar Piastri via: Motorsport-total.com
Usually, the high-speed tracks work in favor of McLaren, but winning won’t be easy for them as Red Bull is as strong as ever and Ferrari has also shown brilliant pace. To catch up to the Austrian outfit, McLaren will have to beat the Reds first, perhaps if fate is by their side, they will be able to do just that during the upcoming Sunday’s 53-lap Japanese GP.
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