McLaren driver Oscar Piastri said his team could’ve performed better at the qualifying session for the Japanese Grand Prix.
The Australian qualified 6th for tomorrow’s race, while his teammate Lando Norris locked a second-row starting place in P3, behind both Red Bulls. That’s an important difference to last year, when Piastri achieved P2 behind Max Verstappen for the start of the race.
“A ‘solid’ session is not the word I would use for it,” Piastri told the media when asked about his qualifying performance.
“I just struggled a bit from Q2 onwards to find the rhythm. I just struggled a bit, especially in the middle sector it seemed like.
“So [it wasn’t] my finest of days but [I’ll] try and see what we can do for the GP.”
The number 81 driver said that “clearly on my side, there was more on the table. We hoped it would be a strong one for us and it looks like it is genuinely a pretty strong circuit for us.
“I think compared to last year, we were pretty clear second quickest. This weekend, I would say [we’re] just second quickest,” he said, explaining that McLaren’s rivals have improved compared to 2023.
“The driver can make the difference and I didn’t. I think we’ve got some tight competition and I expect that to continue tomorrow as well.”