Piastri Tops Suzuka Practice, McLaren Stays Cautious

0:00On March 27th, McLaren's Oscar-Piastry topped the 2nd free practice session as Suzuka, with a quick lap time, edging out Mercedes's Kimi Antonelli by, just 900s of a second. This comes in the tough 2026 Formula 1 season opener in Japan, where teams are still dialing in their new powertrains on this demanding. Trek Despite the strong showing, McLaren stayed cautious, remembering Pioshtree's top time in Australia, that ended before the race even started due to a crash. Meanwhile, long-run averages painted a clearer picture, with Mercedes leading at 1 minute 34.780 seconds over 9 laps. On medium tires, followed closely by Ferrari and then McLaren. Red Bull set further back, sandwiched between Haas and Alpine, highlighting how energy management and grip are key here without many hard-breaking zones. Driver's voice frustrations after the session. Landon Norris lost valuable track time to a hydraulic problem, leaving him

1:01short on set of confidence for this tricky circuit. Max for Stappin called out Red Bull's balance issues, especially in sector 1, with understeer and oversteer swings and medium to high-speed corners, saying it's not an easy overnight fix. Lower down, Haas and Alpine showed solid race pace, while Audi and Racing Bulls dealt with mechanical hiccups that cut their running short. Williams struggled more on higher fuel loads, and Cadillac tested diffuser updates to close the gap. Aston Martin faces vibration problems from its Honda Power Unit once mounted to the chassis, pointing to a shared fix needed between the teams. As qualifying looms tomorrow, Mercedes and Ferrari hold the edge in the championship fight, but McLaren's pace without upgrades keeps them in. Contention if they can avoid Sunday gremlins. Stay locked in with F1 news today, AI-powered updates.