Oscar Piastri: Our expectations were met

Oscar Piastri will start from the front row for the first time this season – in qualifying in Suzuka he only lost to Max Verstappen. His teammate, Lando Norris, showed a third result and promised to make life difficult for the pole holder tomorrow.

Oscar Piastri (2nd): “My first fastest lap in the qualifying final was very good and I was quite satisfied, although the last chicane could have been better. On the second attempt the first sector turned out well, but the next two were worse.

But I’m very happy to have shown for the second time, and overall I’m happy for our team, because this weekend is going very well for us. The technical innovations on my car are working effectively and we thought our chances were quite good at this track. These expectations were justified and I am happy that my partner and I showed the 2nd and 3rd results.

For the first time in a long time I’m starting from the front row – it’s great! I only have to overtake one car and I will try to do that.”

Lando Norris (3rd): “Great day for our team! Oscar did a great job, we showed second and third results and in front of us, as usual, is Max Verstappen.

I’m happy with the way I did my laps on this difficult track, where it’s very difficult to put everything together. The speeds are enormous and even the smallest error leads to a major loss of time. But we still got good positions for tomorrow’s race.

Many glorious chapters in McLaren’s history are specifically linked to Japan, and of course we hope for success in the Grand Prix to continue this tradition. But it won’t be easy because Max is doing great, but we will do our best and try to make his life difficult.”