Oscar Piastri: Shame we never saw what could've been without Safety Car at Suzuka

Piastri ran a controlled race at the front, managing pace and track position in a tight battle with Mercedes and Ferrari. However, the race turning moment came with the Safety Car, which reset the order and removed the strategic advantage he had begun to build.

Reflecting on his launch off the line, Piastri downplayed the moment despite it being race-defining: “I thought it was good, but I didn’t think it was super special. I saw Kimi go into wheelspin straight away… it was good enough to get into the lead, which was great. So yes, clearly that was a good strength of ours today.”

Once in front, Piastri managed the opening phase with control, keeping George Russell behind while building a small gap before the first stops. That phase, he suggested, underlined both McLaren’s progress and the importance of execution: “I could keep George behind and just before the stops we were actually pulling away a little bit again… we did a really good job of executing with what we had.”

However, the race turned on the timing of the Safety Car, which handed the strategic advantage to Mercedes and ultimately Kimi Antonelli. Piastri was left wondering what might have been: “It would have been really interesting to see what would have happened without that… a shame that we never got to see what would have happened.”

Even so, he remained pragmatic about the final result, framing second place as a sign of progress rather than frustration: “For us at this point to be disappointed about finishing second is a pretty good place to be… we took every opportunity we had today.”

Across the weekend, Piastri emphasised that McLaren had maximised its package through preparation and execution rather than outright pace. He pointed to detailed work on setup, power unit deployment, and race procedures: “We had a really good understanding of what we wanted… I think we just nailed everything. Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough for the win.”

That gap to Mercedes remains significant. Despite running strongly in clean air and executing a near-flawless race, Piastri conceded the scale of the deficit: “We did everything right this weekend and we still got beaten by 15 seconds, so we’ve got a pretty big gap to fill.”

Still, there were encouraging signs. Holding Russell at bay for an extended period and finishing ahead of one Mercedes car suggested the leaders are not untouchable: “The fact that I could keep George behind for so long was really encouraging… I’m confident that we can get there.”

On a personal level, Piastri rated the weekend among his best in Formula 1, highlighting both his driving and decision-making under pressure: “I think this weekend was probably one of my best weekends in F1… there wasn’t anything more we could have done.”

Beyond performance, Piastri also addressed the broader concerns surrounding the 2026 regulations, particularly after Ollie Bearman’s high-speed crash.

Piastri warned that the extreme closing speeds are an inherent challenge of the current cars: “There’s clearly an element of learning for us as drivers… whilst we’re learning that, unfortunately, things like this are probably going to happen.”

McLaren emerged from Suzuka with a strong double points finish, the reigning World Champion team bouncing back from a torrid early phase of the 2026 Formula 1 season.

Lando Norris started P5 and was P5 at the flag, extracting performance in clean air and capitalising late in the race: “A strong day for the team, with many positives. I got a great start, and we managed to show a bit more of our competitive pace, especially in clean air.

“I’m pleased with how we managed the tyres and that we managed to pass Lewis in the final laps. We’ve clearly made significant progress with our power unit deployment, and this track suited our car well. Second and fifth are good results, and a sign of the hard work the team is putting in, so thanks to them. It’s a sign we’re heading in the right direction," added Norris.

Team principal Andrea Stella underlined that McLaren’s step forward in qualifying translated into race pace, while acknowledging that the ultimate outcome remains uncertain.

On Piastri’s chances, he explained: “We could compete with Russell today, who was slightly faster than us but Oscar had the advantage of being the car ahead.

“It looked like when Oscar was in the rhythm, he could keep him behind. We would have had a possibility with Russell. Unclear whether we could have kept behind Antonelli, who was making up [positions] through the field.

“All to be proven but the important thing is not about ‘if’ or ‘what’. It’s about the fact that the progress we saw in qualifying has been confirmed in the race, so this is a good position to go into the break," concluded Stella.

On Norris’ race, Stella added: “Lando had a good race. He was in a good condition to pass Hamilton at the end. We said yesterday it would be good if we could fight with Ferrari and we did. Lando’s being kept on the back foot by the team because we had several issues in practice.”

The result leaves McLaren encouraged by clear performance gains, but still chasing Mercedes at the front as the season heads into a short break before Miami.
(Reporting by Agnes Carlier at Suzuka)