Piastri Secures 3rd in Japanese GP Qualifying

0:00It's March 28th. This is F1 News today, your AI-powered team coverage. Oscar Piaestry grabbed third place in qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuki, a solid step up from McLaren, even if they still trail Mercedes, in raw speed. The young Australian driver clocked his best lap at 1 minute, 29 seconds, and 132 thousands, putting him just three, and a half-tence behind Polsitter Kimi Antonelli with George Russell sliding in second. Starting off a rough start to the season, Piaestry crashed before the formation lap in his home Australian race, and sat out the Chinese Grand Prix due to an electrical glitch in the power unit. Despite barely any racing lap so far, he topped the times in free practice, too, here. Piaestry sounded pleased, post-session, saying his first Q3 lap felt strong even if the last one felt short, and he's happy to close the gap to Mercedes. Playing into race day, teammate Lando Norris landed fifth after missing much of free practice

1:01three with an energy recovery system problem. No big upgrades on the McLaren this weekend, but Piaestry figures the Suzuki track plays to their strengths better, letting the team squeeze more from. The power unit and setup tweaks, still, he admits they're behind overall, and need to find more pace. With that progress in pocket, tomorrow's race will test if McLaren can hang tough against the Mercedes duo, or if the gap widens under pressure.