Beaten by Verstappen, Piastri reassures himself before the race: "We are in the battle for victory"

44 thousandths. That's what was missing from Oscar piastri to secure a second career pole position. And yet, the Australian was “far from it” since he set the third fastest time while his teammate Lando Norris placed himself just in front of him at… only 0“012 from the reference of this Q3.

It is Max Verstappen to everyone's surprise, who also secured the latter. The Dutchman took everyone by surprise and, without even signing a purple sector, secured pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix, his first since Austria last year, making 15 Grands Prix.

Thus, the four-time world champion ended the fine run of McLaren, untouchable in the exercise since the beginning of the year. But despite this “defeat”, the orange clan remains confident as they approach the third Grand Prix of the year.

« I felt good in the car throughout qualifying, particularly at the start of Q3 where I set a good lap., summarized Oscar Piastri. As for the last one, I wasn't able to do it as well as I had hoped, but the margins are incredibly tight. Everything is very open for tomorrow. (Sunday). We have a very good car. Today (SATURDAY), we missed him a little. But we will try our luck again in the race.

We have a good pace but the others are not as far behind as people think. This has been seen this (SATURDAY) Morning (during EL3) And it's not a big surprise. For his part, Max did an incredible job to get pole position, but I know we have a very good car for the race and we are obviously in the fight for victory. »

While rain could come to liven up the proceedings this Sunday (7:00 a.m.), the Australian does not seem worried, having made a mistake in similar conditions at home in Australia, losing his place on the podium. I don't really mind it, he confides. Our pace has been good since the start of the season regardless of the conditions. Whatever comes, I take it.. " At least it has the merit of being clear.

ALSO READ > Japan – Qualifying: Verstappen disgusts the McLarens