McLaren's Suzuka Surge: Double Points Haul

0:00It's March 29th, I'm Corey with the story. This is F1 News Today, driven by AI and Build for Fans. McLaren just took a huge leap at the Japanese Grand Prix, snagging second place for Oscar Piaestry and fifth for Lando Norris in a solid double point. Hall. That's their best showing yet, proving the teams got real speed to compete up front after a rough open to the 2026 season. This was Piaestry's very first race start of the year, and only Norris is second, coming off a brutal early stretch for the Wilkin crew. They kicked off strong, leading first and third after just lap 1, but had to battle back from there. Former F1 driver and Sky Sports analyst, Karoon Chanthak, called it a massive step forward, saying they'd have snapped up second and fifth from the jump, though they hoped for more after that hot start. He praised their pace for holding tough against the top dogs. Park highlighted Mercedes's edge, too, with Kimi Antonelli piling on about half a second

1:00per lap over 25 laps post safety car, turning A, gap into 13 seconds. Still, he noted McLaren can hang in that ballpark if they locked down track position early. On tracks like Suzuka, that strategy keeps them right in the mix, setting up McLaren to build momentum as the season rolls on.