Qualifying at Suzuka confirmed the expected head-to-head battle between McLaren and Ferrari that had already been taking shape since Friday. This time, the Woking-based team came out on top, as despite the progress made by the Maranello squad on Saturday, McLaren secured the best available position behind Mercedes thanks to Oscar Piastri.
The Australian driver converted the positive feelings shown in free practice into a third-place grid slot, finishing not far behind George Russell’s Mercedes. Lando Norris, on the other hand, was narrowly denied a place on the second row, losing out by just four thousandths of a second to Charles Leclerc in the closing moments of qualifying.
Piastri: “We prepared to be at our best at the right moment”
After failing to start in both Melbourne and Shanghai, Oscar Piastri approached the Japanese Grand Prix weekend with the right mindset, extracting the maximum from his MCL40 right from the opening sessions. On Friday, he even set the fastest time in free practice, confirming the strong potential already sensed within the team.
In qualifying, the Australian had to concede to Mercedes’ superiority, as expected, but looking at the timing data, he was not far from the front row, with George Russell less than a tenth of a second ahead.
“I think today we can enjoy the day we have had. It has been a very good performance,” Piastri commented to Sky Sport after qualifying at Suzuka. “We did a great job throughout the weekend, putting everything together at the right moment. Yesterday in FP2 we looked strong, in FP3 not so much, but when it mattered in qualifying, we were competitive.”
Looking ahead to the race, McLaren—like its rivals—is aware of Mercedes’ current advantage, especially considering the pace shown by the Silver Arrows during Friday’s long-run simulations.
“We still need to find a bit more pace to reach Mercedes, but this is a good step forward. I am happy with how I executed with the material I had available, so I am quite satisfied.”
Continuing along the same line, he added: “It is nice to be a bit closer to Mercedes. Hopefully we can stay there tomorrow as well. Maybe this track suits us a bit more and allows us to make better use of the power unit and optimize things further.”
During the media session, Oscar Piastri also addressed some of the challenges posed by the new generation of cars, which became particularly evident at Suzuka.
“At one point, I thought Ferrari would be on pole! With these cars, it is easy to think you are going faster, but in reality you are going slower because the engine does not like that situation,” he said with a hint of irony. “Being slower than Mercedes in the esses is not necessarily a bad thing, and I know that sounds strange to say.”
Norris: “I paid the price for lack of laps, but McLaren is improving”
Lando Norris was understandably less satisfied, as he has so far struggled to find the same level of confidence as his teammate. After being hampered by technical issues in all free practice sessions, Norris came very close to securing a spot on the second row, only to lose it at the very end to Charles Leclerc, who edged him out by just four thousandths of a second.
“I think many things went better, and as a team we are managing to extract more from the car,” Norris commented regarding McLaren’s form during the Japanese weekend. “From my side, I obviously have not done enough laps to fully understand everything and feel completely comfortable, but I feel we are making progress as a team. We look closer and we look better, but if I had done more laps this weekend, I would have felt a bit more confident. It was not bad, but we need to do better.”
Stella: “We are extracting more performance from the chassis, but especially from the power unit”
Andrea Stella also spoke about the performances of both McLaren drivers during an interview with Sky Sports UK. “Oscar drove very well throughout the weekend and honestly has been quick throughout the season so far,” the team principal commented. “This is an opportunity for him to demonstrate it again, considering he was unable to take part in the first two races. I think he is in excellent form, and I hope tomorrow he will have the chance to show it.”
Regarding Lando Norris’ difficulties, he added: “As a team, we have put him under pressure because we had delays in the first practice session and issues in the second and third. We had to change the battery again. Lando is doing his best to minimize the impact of these interruptions.”
From a technical perspective, the most important takeaway is the progress McLaren has made in terms of performance. “There are signs of improvement in terms of performance and overall competitiveness. I think this comes from extracting more from the chassis and the setup, but above all from the power unit. We are becoming more familiar with it, and that is reflected in lap time gains.”
This progress is also confirmed by a closer comparison with Ferrari compared to what was seen in the opening two Grands Prix. “They have shown that they have gained some race pace, so I would be pleasantly surprised if we are able to compete with them for podium positions,” Stella said cautiously. “This weekend we have seen progress, so we will be in the fight. It is a race, and anything can happen. We will try to aim for the podium, but we know we still need to improve the car and bring updates.”
“That is the plan for the next race, so that we can consistently fight for podiums and, hopefully later in the season, for victories.”
McLaren’s P3 at Suzuka is the result of a better technical understanding of the 2026 hybrid regulations and improved chassis optimization. Based on the content of Andrea Stella’s analysis, the Woking team is finally bridging the gap, turning a difficult start into a genuine fight for the podium against the Scuderia Ferrari.
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