Piastri “still in the fight for the win” after qualifying third

Undeterred by Max Verstappen’s stunning burst of pace in Qualifying, Oscar Piastri says his simple game plan for the expectedly wet Japanese Grand Prix is to “finish two spots ahead of where I’m starting” in third place.

Coming into qualifying as the team to beat, it would be fair to say the fight for pole was expected to be a straight shootout between McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, however, in the dying seconds of Q3, Verstappen shocked the entire pitlane, including his own garage, when he stole Pole position.

“I think looking at the margins and how I performed, I’ve been pretty happy,” Piastri said.

“Just yeah, those little margins, which when it’s so tight, make all the difference clearly.” 

The Australian added: “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 [to see Red Bull in the top three]. 

“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.”

Taking it back to the opening session of the Qualifying hour, Piastri’s first Q1 attempt instantly promoted him into the top spot despite falling short of his teammate in the primary stages of the lap.

With a time of 1:27.687s, the Australian gradually dropped down to P3, however, on his final tour of the Suzuka International Circuit, he reclaimed the fastest time of the 18-minute session.

It was a messy opening run for the #81 as he commenced Q2, becoming one of many victims forced into the gravel trap due to the wind change at Degner 2.

Despite his error, the Australian landed in P4, advancing to the last shootout with ease after making up ground in the final five minutes.

With ten drivers remaining in the hunt for Pole, the stakes were high as the light went green to start Q3.

Putting his best foot forward on his mission to secure his second-ever P1, Piastri secured the provisional top spot with a flying time of 1:27.052s, with Max Verstappen being the closest threat two-tenths behind.

When the final attempts kicked off, Piastri was one of the last to launch, tracking ahead of the Dutchman when his hopes of a major improvement were lost in the opening sector.

Piastri counted himself out as he made a common error at Turn 2, losing time while his teammate set purple sectors across the lap.

Norris originally slotted into provisional Pole, however, the shock of the session soon arrived when Max Verstappen stunned Honda’s home crowd by stealing P1 from McLaren.

Setting a new all-time track record of 1:26.983s, Verstappen was just 12 milliseconds ahead of Norris, with Piastri only 44 milliseconds behind in third. 

“Yeah, it wasn’t my best sector one,” Piastri admitted. 

“I think I lost a little bit of time compared to the first lap of Q3, and yeah, when the gap’s four hundredths from first to third, you think about it quite a bit.

“So, you know, I’ve been pretty comfortable through qualifying. 

“I think the first lap of Q3 was a good one — the second one, just a little bit off the mark in a couple of places.

“But yeah, I’ve had to dial myself in a bit more this weekend than I did last race and it’s taken a bit longer to get there.”

Conditions are expected to throw a spanner in the works, with rainfall expected in the morning at Suzuka, potentially lasting through to the start of the Japanese Grand Prix.

Help or hindrance, Piastri is determined to have the conditions play into his hand as his goal of back-to-back Grand Prix victories is well and truly still alive. 

“No [plan yet], just see what the weather does,” he admitted.

“You know, obviously, the game plan is to try and finish two spots ahead of where I’m starting.

“But apart from that, we’ll see what we get tomorrow first.”

Lining up alongside Charles Leclerc, Piastri will have his sights set on jumping both his teammate and Verstappen as the five lights go out in Suzuka, with the race start scheduled to take place at 15:00 AEDT.

Image: McLaren F1

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