McLaren’s Oscar Piastri looked like a hot candidate for pole position throughout Qualifying for the Japanese GP.
The 23-year-old held provisional pole after his first run in Q3.
On his second run, he slightly improved on his previous time, but it wasn’t enough to maintain pole position as he had a moment in the first sector that was extremely costly. He purpled sectors 2 and 3.
Piastri’s fastest time was just 44 thousandths of a second slower than the fastest time set by surprise pole-sitter Max Verstappen in the Red Bull.
The McLaren driver missed out on the front row, having to concede the spot to his teammate Lando Norris.
The Australian will thus head into the Japanese GP from P3 on the grid.
“Tight margins” in Qualifying
In the press conference following Qualifying, Piastri lamented the “tight margins” that prevented him from claiming pole position.
“Yeah, it felt good through much of qualifying, especially at the start of Q3.
“There was a good lap, and then just the last lap, yeah, it just didn’t quite come together as I wanted.
“But incredibly tight margins.
“So yeah, I think it’s still all to fight for tomorrow.
“I think we’ve got a great car and, yeah, just a little bit more left on the table out there today.
“So try again tomorrow.”
Potential for victory in F1 Japanese GP
Piastri notes that the gap between McLaren and the rest of the field isn’t as big as it appears to be.
He thus wasn’t too surprised by Verstappen clinching pole position.
However, the Australian is confident that the pace of his MCL39 will allow him to mount a challenge for the victory in the Japanese GP.
“Yeah, I think so. I think we’ve got good pace.
“You know, I think the others have not been as far away as people think.
“You never quite know with engine modes and stuff like that. And, you know, this morning was pretty tight.
“So yeah, I think it’s not a massive surprise.
“I think Max has obviously done a great job getting up on pole.
“But yeah, we’ve also got a great car for tomorrow and still in the fight for the win.”
Potential of rain
With McLaren showing great form irrespective of conditions, Piastri feels unperturbed by the forecasted rain for tomorrow’s Japanese GP.
“I don’t really mind.
“I think our pace has been good in all conditions so far this year, and I welcome whatever comes.
“But yeah, let’s see what we get.”
