McLaren seems to be picking up where they left off in Shanghai at Suzuka: Nevertheless, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are warning of George Russell’s pace
After race wins, the score is 1-1 between the two McLaren drivers, and Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri also share the first two training sessions in Suzuka on Friday: in the first session, the Briton is ahead, while in the second, the Australian takes the best time.
The rest of the field is a full four-tenths down on the Papaya racers in the afternoon: So it looks like the McLaren drivers will once again be competing among themselves in the race in Suzuka…
However, Norris and Piastri are not yet convinced – and both point to the strong pace of Mercedes after the session. At least George Russell finished the first session just 0.163 seconds behind Norris in second place, and the Briton also presented himself as quite competitive on the long runs.
Norris warns: “Mercedes definitely strong”
Although Norris explains: “I think we are still at the top. But George was very fast this morning, just as fast as we were. So Mercedes are definitely strong.” Teammate Piastri takes the same line: “All in all, not an easy day. In the first session, it was difficult to get the pace out of the car. In the second, I felt much more comfortable, but Mercedes were also very fast today,” reports the China winner.
Silver Arrow star Russell does not want to disagree: ‘To be honest, it was a pretty positive day, the car felt very good, so I’m really satisfied,’ reports the Briton: ”Now we have to make sure that it stays that way tomorrow.” Russell then wants to fight “for the front two rows of the grid”, but the wind is still causing him some headaches in this regard: “Today was very windy and tomorrow it is supposed to turn 180 degrees. That will completely change the car’s handling.”
Despite their strong pace, the McLaren drivers also had to struggle with the conditions on Friday: “On this track, the wind has a huge impact on the car’s handling, and with gusts like this, the car feels different on every lap,” explains Piastri. Norris adds: “The wind makes a huge difference on a fast track like this. Especially in the first sector, where you are driving at the absolute limit for a long time, even a breath can greatly unbalance the car.”
However, the problem applies equally to all opponents, says the world championship leader, who therefore still considers McLaren to be in a strong position: ”I still feel good, we have made progress. There are still things we want to improve by tomorrow, but I’m satisfied, especially since it was a “chaotic session” with four red flags in the second training session, which is therefore “not a reliable indicator”.
In the battle of the big teams, Red Bull seemed to be “a little behind” on Friday, “but they often do that until qualifying, and then suddenly they are back at the front again,” says the McLaren star, who therefore has no illusions: “In any case, I expect a close fight tomorrow. I mean, I hope, of course, that it will be easy for us, but realistically, Mercedes and especially George will be a tough opponent after what we saw today.”
Russell: McLaren still ‘one step ahead’
Russell himself does not want to overstate this, pointing out: “The McLarens are looking very strong again – when they put together a good lap, they are currently one step ahead. But that was already clear to us beforehand.” Besides, Mercedes should not completely neglect looking in the rearview mirror: For example, he was impressed by Isack Hadjar in the Racing Bull, who was third in the afternoon.
Russell’s conclusion: “It’s a bit unusual to have so many teams in the mix, but I’m assuming we’ll be in the fight for the top four spots.” What gives the Briton hope: “We were always doing quite well in terms of times, which is the most important thing.”
Otherwise, however, it was not the most instructive Friday, because of the wind mentioned, “because there might also be a bit of rain on the way”, and because of the still difficult-to-predict tire performance for Sunday: “It will only really become clear [on the hard tires] in the last ten laps [of the stint],” believes Russell.
Even with main rival McLaren, they don’t want to go out on a limb yet because of the many imponderables: “It’s always difficult to get a clear picture from a session like this,” says day’s fastest Piastri: “I think the pace is there and I’m confident that we are well positioned for the rest of the weekend. But it’s still a bit unclear at the moment, so we have to stay alert.”
