No podium
The Japanese Grand Prix did not meet the expectations of McLaren, who after Lando Norris' 3rd place in qualifying was aiming for the podium with the same British driver. Behind the two Red Bulls of Verstappen and Perez, Carlos Sainz, a former Woking player, completed the top-3, on the podium for the third time this year after the same position obtained in Bahrain and, above all, after the success won in Melbourne.
Lost challenge with Leclerc
Behind the Spaniard was the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, voted Driver of the Day for tire management and for a strategy based on a single pit stop, unlike all the other drivers in the top areas of the rankings. . Furthermore, on the last lap before the Monegasque's tire change, McLaren called Norris himself back to the pits, as he was chasing the Ferrari driver at the time despite an error by the latter at the exit of turn 9.
Pace not up to par
The challenge in the pits between the men from Ferrari and McLaren finally rewarded those from Maranello. Consequently, behind the Red Bull and Ferrari duo, Norris he thus crossed the finish line in fifth position: “Difficult race! We made a good attempt, but today we didn't have enough paceso trying to cover and stay ahead of the Ferraris was difficult – He admitted – I think we still did a good job and maximized the points, but starting third and finishing fifth is never the best thing to do. It's still the best we could achieve today, so I think we should be satisfied with it, even if it doesn't seem like a great result to me.”
Further back also Piastri
Even more disappointing was the performance of Oscar Piastriwho also reached the points but only in eighth position, behind the two Mercedes and Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin. All this despite starting from sixth place: “It was a difficult afternoon – explained the Australian – things didn't go right and we didn't fight for the positions we wanted. However, this year it's four points finishes and there are many things to take inspiration from and learn from. We will return to the factory and turn our attention to China, where we will try to win other valuable points for the team.”
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