McLaren narrowly missed out on pole at the Japanese Grand Prix as Max Verstappen leads qualifying. However, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri remain confident ahead of a forecasted challenging race day.
After dominating the first two Grand Prix of the season, McLaren has had to settle for second and third for tomorrow’s Japanese Grand Prix. However, despite falling short of pole both drivers were in high spirits, confident that they have the pace to challenge for a victory tomorrow.
Lando Norris on the tight qualifying margins
Despite just being beaten by Max Verstappen, Lando Norris was pleased with his and McLaren’s qualifying performance. Norris also acknowledged the small margin between himself and the 4-time world champion and gave Verstappen the recognition he deserved for his record-breaking lap.
“I’m happy because I feel like I got everything out of the car today. It’s tiny, was there probably that much in it? Yes. But Max did an amazing lap.”
Norris was also very quick to point out his minor mistake during the first run in Q3. He explained;
“I dipped a wheel on the exit of 7, and like, 7 is the last place you want to make a mistake.”
However, Norris still managed to push his McLaren to the very limit, with his flying lap of 1:26.995. A lap time that was only 0.012 seconds slower than his championship rival. Norris believed that he left it all out on track claiming,
“If I was to go again, I probably wouldn’t go as quickly as I did. I feel like we were on the limit of what we had.”
Regardless of the qualifying performance, Norris remains optimistic for tomorrow’s race result. Particularly with the unpredictable weather forecast for Sunday. When asked if he and Piastri would be pushing for another win, Norris responded, “That’s the goal, but no one knows what the weather’s going to do tomorrow. So it could be another race like Australia.”
Referring to his previous victory in Melbourne, which saw treacherous conditions for all drivers. Norris remains adamant it will be an exciting race for all fans and even the drivers.
“But it’s going to be an exciting race, you know. Of course, we want to try to get past Max, but he’s going to put up a good fight. But I’ve been there before, so I’m excited for it,” he added with a smile.
Oscar Piastri on the intense qualifying
Oscar Piastri, who was only a tenth behind Norris in third, also displayed impressive pace in qualifying. However, unlike his teammate, he believed there was more to extract from the car.
“It just didn’t quite come together as I wanted… But incredibly tight margins. So yeah, I think it’s still all to play for tomorrow. I think we’ve got a great car.”
The Australian’s confidence in the car was evident. Throughout qualifying he was consistently matching the pace of his teammate out front. Even in Q3, Piastri managed to set the fastest sector times for the final two sectors.
Piastri wasn’t overly concerned, noting that the gap between them was minimal and that McLaren had been consistently strong in every session leading up to qualifying.
“We’ve also got a great car for tomorrow and are still in the fight for the win.”
Like his teammate, the young driver expressed his openness to the possibility of unpredictable weather. Despite a tricky home Grand Prix for the Aussie, he stated “I don’t mind,” when asked about the potential for rain during the race. Claiming that regardless of the weather conditions, McLaren’s “pace has been good in all conditions so far this year. We’ll see what we get.”
McLaren aiming for three straight wins
Both Norris and Piastri have ambitions for the race sharing a goal of securing McLaren’s third win of the season. Continuing the team’s dominance in 2025. However, with Verstappen on pole and the weather forecast adding an extra layer of unpredictability, the battle for the win is set to be a thriller.
Following last year’s championship battle, Norris remains determined to Push Verstappen to his limit. Acknowledging the challenge that lies during the Japanese Grand Prix tomorrow.
“No one knows what the weather is going to be like tomorrow, so no point trying to think of too many things. We’ll do our homework tonight. It’s probably going to be a bit of a race like Melbourne, and that was an exciting race for everyone… Now I’ve got to try and do some overtakes, you know? So we’ll see. It’s exciting. I think the unknown of the weather is going to make it exciting and nerve-racking for everyone.”
Tomorrow’s race promises to be exciting and highly competitive. The McLaren duo of Norris and Piastri will be hoping to capitalise on any opportunities and fight against Verstappen for the win. The changeable conditions and strategy will be vital to see which driver comes out on top in Japan.
