Piastri bounces back
Oscar Piastri recovered from a nightmare home Grand Prix to qualify P3 and finish P2 at Suzuka — his best result this season and a tidy bit of resilience after earlier setbacks. ( )
Kimi Antonelli claimed pole with a 1:28.778s lap, George Russell was +0.298s back and Oscar Piastri trailed the pole time by +0.354s in qualifying at Suzuka. (gpfans.com) Piastri converted his grid position into the race lead at Turn 1 while team mate Lando Norris sprang from P5 to P3 into the second corner on the opening laps. (mclaren.com) McLaren recorded Piastri pitting on Lap 18 to switch from Medium to Hard tyres as part of a protective strategy, while Russell stayed out three laps longer before stopping. (mclaren.com) A heavy crash for Oliver Bearman on Lap 22 prompted a long Safety Car; Mercedes’ Antonelli used the neutralised period to make a cheaper stop from the lead and resume at the front, a sequence McLaren says cost Piastri the race lead. (the-race.com) The official classification shows Antonelli completed 53 laps (307.471 km) in 1:28:03.403 with the fastest lap of 1:32.432 on lap 49, and Piastri finished 13.722 seconds behind him. (fia.com) Piastri entered Suzuka having missed the first two race starts after a reconnaissance-lap crash in Australia and an electrical issue in China, and he described the podium as “as good as a win” while analysts including Alex Brundle praised what they called a “really smart” drive. (formula1.com)
