Oscar Piastri delivered his best qualifying performance of the season by taking third place on the grid for the Japanese Grand Prix, confirming the progress made this weekend.
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After a more complicated start to the season, the Australian was able to rely on a much cleaner execution from McLaren, in a context where the British team finally seems to be fully exploiting its potential.
Both in preparation and during qualifying, Piastri seemed to find his best sensations behind the wheel of the MCL40. Result: a place on the second row, in direct contact with the leaders.
“Qualifying went well for the first time this year. It’s good to be among the top three. That’s pretty much all we had, and it’s good to be closer to Mercedes even though I missed my last lap,” he explained to Jean Alesi.
McLaren is progressing, but remains realistic
While this performance marks a milestone, Piastri remains realistic about the current hierarchy. According to him, McLaren does not yet have the weapons to fully compete with Mercedes F1 Team, but the gap is gradually narrowing.
The driver highlights several factors explaining this regain in competitiveness: a more favorable circuit, but above all a better exploitation of the existing package, unchanged since the start of the season: “The car hasn’t changed during the three races, so that doesn’t make the difference. The circuit probably suits us better and we are exploiting the engine better,” he analyzes.
He also acknowledges that McLaren had not gotten the most out of its car during the first rounds: “In Australia and China, we were behind with the package, but we weren’t at the best possible level. We’ve made progress, but there’s still a big gap to close.”
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Ferrari still the benchmark in the race?
On the management side, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella adopts an even more cautious tone, especially with a view to the race. The Italian believes that Scuderia Ferrari maintains a clear advantage in race pace, which could complicate McLaren’s podium ambitions.
“Ferrari showed that they have gained relative speed during the race. I would be very surprised if we were able to compete with Ferrari for podiums, he says. We have progressed this weekend, so we will definitely be there. But in a race, anything can happen. We will try to get on the podium.”
An encouraging base for the future
This third place nevertheless represents a positive signal for McLaren, which seems to have reached a milestone in the understanding of its car. The objective is now clear: convert this progress into regular results and continue development to definitively close the gap with the top teams.
“We need to improve the car and bring upgrades. That is our goal for the next race,” concludes Stella.
In the short term, Piastri will have a good hand to play at Suzuka, with the hope of confirming this rise in power against Mercedes and Ferrari, even if the hierarchy in race pace remains uncertain.
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