Piastri comments on 'incredibly small' margins which cost him pole in Suzuka

11:52, 05 Apr

byToby Nixon

Oscar Piastri has reflected on his qualifying performance for tomorrow's Japanese Grand Prix. Max Verstappen secured pole position for the race, once again showing his class with a blistering qualifying lap at Suzuka. Despite the best efforts of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Piastri, neither could get close to the Dutchman’s time.

"Yeah, it felt good through much of qualifying, especially at the start of Q3," Piastri began in the press conference. "There was a good lap, and then just the last lap, yeah, it just didn’t quite come together as I wanted. But incredibly tight margins. So yeah, I think it's still all to fight for tomorrow. I think we've got a great car and, yeah, just a little bit more left on the table out there today. So try again tomorrow."

There is still a small chance of rain on Sunday, and Piastri wouldn't oppose a wet race. "I don't really mind. I think our pace has been good in all conditions so far this year, and I welcome whatever comes. But yeah, let's see what we get," he said at the post-qualifying press conference.

Piastri on Verstappen's performance

Piastri was also asked if he and Norris could compete with Verstappen in the race itself. "Yeah, I think so. I think we've got good pace. I think the others have not been as far away as people think. You never quite know with engine modes and stuff like that. And, you know, this morning was pretty tight. So yeah, I think it's not a massive surprise. I think Max has obviously done a great job getting up on pole. But yeah, we've also got a great car for tomorrow and still in the fight for the win."

With points scored on Sunday, it's still all to play for at Suzuka. You can follow all the action for the remainder of this weekend on GPblog.