Oscar Piastri shocks as he beats Mercedes pair in Suzuka FP2 as McLaren starts strong

Oscar Piastri, the only driver yet to complete a grand prix lap this season, beat the Mercedes teammates in FP2 as he recorded a strong start to the Japanese Grand Prix weekend.

The McLaren driver posted a 1:30.133 to beat Kimi Antonelli by 0.092s while championship leader George Russell was two-tenths off the pace.

Oscar Piastri sets fastest FP2 time at Japanese Grand Prix

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FP2 got underway with just one McLaren on the track as the Woking team investigated a hydraulic issue on Lando Norris’ MCL40. There were early problems for Arvid Lindblad, who was instructed to pit after reporting his downshifts were “not working”. Meanwhile, Pierre Gasly had to take evasive action to avoid Alex Albon in the pit lane.

Lewis Hamilton opened the timesheet with a 1:33.306, but after 10 minutes, Oscar Piastri had climbed to P1 with a 1:31.495. George Russell was second ahead of Kimi Antonelli.

Albon had a “dangerous” moment in the traffic at Turn 3, while Lindblad was told to climb out of his Racing Bulls car as the team investigated his downshift issue. Minutes later, Albon came to a halt at Turn 1, the Williams driver reporting things were “not working”. He got going again.

While Norris watched on in the McLaren garage, Gabriel Bortoleto climbed out of his Audi as the team worked on his power unit. The duo, along with Lindblad and Sergio Perez, were the only drivers without a time on the board. Neither Norris nor Perez had even completed a single lap.

Cadillac reported: “Just finishing car after the earlier incident with Albon, which damaged the floor. He will be out in this session.”

Race Control announced Franco Colapinto would be investigated after FP2 for ‘erratic driving’ in an incident involving Max Verstappen.

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Swapping to the soft Pirelli tyres mid-session, Piastri went quickest with a 1:30.133, which withstood an attack from Kimi Antonelli, Russell and the Ferrari teammates. The top three were separated by two-tenths. Lando Norris was up to P6 after his earlier issues.

Perez ventured out with 25 minutes remaining in the session, and went P18 ahead of the Aston Martin drivers of Fernando Alonso, back in the car after Jak Crawford drove his AMR26 in FP1, and Lance Stroll. A huge lock up from Norris sent him back into the pits.

Bortoleto made a late appearance in the final 10 minutes, but appeared to run into trouble as he slowed. He did a drive through the pits but was immediately back out on track. He went P16 on his first flying lap.

As the chequered flag fell, the drivers were given two opportunities to practice starts from the grid.

Piastri’s 1:30.133 stood as the time to beat, the Australian racer finishing FP2 0.092 ahead of Antonelli with Russell a further tenth down. Norris was fourth ahead of the Ferrari drivers.

Japanese GP FP2 Result

1 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:30.133
2 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:30.225
3 George Russell Mercedes 1:30.338
4 Lando Norris McLaren 1:30.649
5 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:30.846
6 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:30.980
7 Nico Hulkenberg Audi 1:31.441
8 Alex Albon Williams 1:31.496
9 Oliver Bearman Haas 1:31.498
10 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:31.509
11 Esteban Ocon Haas 1:31.532
12 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 1:31.590
13 Carlos Sainz Williams 1:31.608
14 Pierre Gasly Alpine 1:31.734
15 Isack Hadjar Red Bull 1:31.759
16 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:31.933
17 Franco Colapinto Alpine 1:32.438
18 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac 1:32.615
19 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin 1:33.596
20 Sergio Perez Cadillac 1:33.689
21 Lance Stroll Aston Martin 1:33.951
22 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls no time

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