Always on track
Together with Ferrari and Racing Bulls, the McLaren was the only team to take to the track in both sessions free practice for the Japanese Grand Prix with its two pilots. If all the teams lapped regularly in FP1, the same was not true for the second test on Friday, thanks to a light rain that fell on the Suzuka track which pushed almost all the drivers to not set any times.
Piastri the 'fastest' in FP2
The Woking house thus represented one of the few exceptions, with Oscar Piastri moreover author of fastest lap in FP2. Despite not having pushed excessively, especially due to the use of soft tires on a track that was not yet completely dry, the Australian stopped the clock on the1:34.725, trailing Lewis Hamilton by half a second. However, this figure is not very significant for the #81, which last year achieved its first podium in F1 in Suzuka.
Positive feelings
The first to admit the reduced importance of what was done in the afternoon session was Piastri himself, 8th in FP1 and with 23 laps completed: “There wasn't much to do in FP2 today, but I managed to do a couple of laps at the end in difficult conditions – has explained – I think it was an ok day, it's difficult to assess everyone's pace due to the lack of representative laps. I think we're in a good positionso we will take what we have available from the data and try to learn more tomorrow morning ahead of qualifying.”
Norris is also optimistic
Summary evaluations also by Lando Norrisauthor of only three laps in FP2 (with a slight error in turn 1) and previously at the bottom of the top-10, one second behind Verstappen: “It wasn't a very intense day on the track – he has declared – it's a shame that we couldn't lap much in the morning due to the red flag and then again in FP2 due to the conditions. It's a shame for all the fans who came to see us today. I think the car is in good shape, so I am confident to be able to face tomorrow and tomorrow find the final feeling before tackling the qualifications. We will work hard to be competitive.”
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