McLaren has not had a double podium for more than two years, but in Suzuka both team drivers finished in the top three. Lando Norris came second, Oscar Piastri third and reached the podium for the first time during the Grand Prix.
Lando Norris (2nd): “Another great day for our team! Both McLaren drivers finished on the podium – it couldn’t have been better. I had a very good start and almost beat Verstappen, but Max is Max! I had an opportunity in Turn 2 and I tried to take advantage of it.
We are not as fast as him, but we are way ahead of everyone else, and I am very happy for Oscar because it is his first time on the podium in Formula 1, so I congratulate him.
We are attacking, gradually improving and continuing to make progress, and I am very proud of our team. I have no doubt that we will still have difficulties, but step by step we are getting closer to our goal and today we stood on the podium together with Oscar for the first time!”
Oscar Piastri (3rd): “The emotions are indescribable, I can say that for sure! I will remember this moment for a long time, but now I don’t have enough words to thank the team for this opportunity! There are not many people in the world who have finished on the podium in Formula 1, but I managed to do it in my debut season.
It wasn’t my best race, but it was still good enough to finish in the top three and I’m very happy! If we talk about highlights, I would highlight catching up with George Russell. I was stuck behind him for a while and knew I had to get ahead of him.
The moment was quite sharp, but our car can maintain a high pace, especially in the second half of the race, when I got into the rhythm I was able to go even faster. And I already want to fight for the podium again!”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
