McLaren's Oscar Piastri edges Mercedes duo in Japanese GP practice timesheets (The-race)
In Friday free practices for the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix, McLaren driver Oscar Piastri set faster lap records than both of his team-mates and all competitors from other factories. The Red Bull pair finished third on their first day at Suzuka while Mercedes trailed behind in second place with Charles Leclerc leading them ahead of Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr., who was further back, followed by the rest of field including Sergio Perez (The-race).
Key Points
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1Oscar Piastri set the fastest time during Friday practice for the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzoka.
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2McLaren's single-lap pace was faster than Mercedes', but long-run speed tests suggest a smaller performance deficit between rivals.
Developments
Perspectives
McLaren topped the timesheets with a single-lap pace of 1:30.133 set by Oscar Piastri on Friday practice at Suzuka.
— [Mar 27, 10:32] How close McLaren really looks to Mercedes at Suzuka (The-race)Despite the fastest single lap being recorded for a non-Mercedes driver in over three years by Oscar Piastri of McLaren during Friday practice.
— [Mar 27, 09:46] McLaren meldet sich zurück: Piastri verdraͤngt Silberpfeile (Faz)"Oscar" is the fastest in Suzuka today. He beat his teammate and Kimi Antonelli by a fraction of seconds.
— [Mar 27, 08:54] Piastri schlägt Mercedes-Duo im Suzuka-Training (Derstandard.at)"Oscar" is the fastest in practice at Japan. He beat his teammate and Kimi Antonelli by a fraction of seconds.
— [Mar 27, 08:53] Japanese Grand Prix: McLaren's Oscar Piastri sets pace ahead of Mercedes (Independent.co.uk)"McLaren" surprised everyone at Suzuka with "Oscar", who is leading the EL.1s in practice.
— [Mar 27, 08:53] Japanese Grand Prix: McLaren's Oscar Piastri sets pace ahead of Mercedes (Independent.co.uk)McLaren made progress over its rivals in Friday practice at Suzuka by achieving a faster time than expected for long runs. However, the team admitted their advantage is primarily due to power unit exploitation and grip deficit rather than superior single-lap pace compared to Mercedes or other competitors like Red Bull who were also fast on this circuit
McLaren's Oscar Piastri set the fastest time at practice for the Japanese Grand Prix by 0.092 seconds over Kimi Antonelli and George Russell. Last year's winner Max Verstappen struggled significantly, finishing tenth while Lewis Hamilton expressed a lack of confidence in his car after placing sixth.
McLaren led the session with Oscar Piastri setting a time of 1:30.133 after overcoming morning difficulties and hydraulic alerts to make significant progress since China; Mercedes remained close behind while Ferrari finished in fifth and sixth place, Red Bull struggled internally including for Max Verstappen who placed tenth despite internal crisis issues affecting Hadjar's seventeenth position overall (note the text states 9th vs P10 context).