There was a chaotic start to the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, with a Safety Car deployed early as Oscar Piastri was passed by teammate Lando Norris after starting on the front row.
On a very hot day at Suzuka, teams went into Sunday expecting at least a two-stop race.
Crucially, both McLaren and Mercedes drivers had two sets of hard tyres to use while Red Bull and Ferrari only had the one set to work with.
The top eight drivers all began Sunday’s race on the medium tyre, with Yuki Tsunoda and Fernando Alonso the only two in the Top 10 to start on softs.
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In a frantic opening, Max Verstappen shifted over to push Piastri to the right which in turn saw the Australian’s McLaren teammate Norris pass him.
There was an early incident too involving Alex Albon, Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, with a Safety Car deployed after debris was left on the track.
All three drivers pitted at the end of Lap 1, with Bottas suffering a puncture in the incident while Zhou had a damaged front wing.
Elsewhere, Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton also made wheel-to-wheel contact which saw the Mercedes driver forced onto the grass.
Perez, meanwhile, was forced to pit for a nosecone change in the aftermath of that contact with Hamilton.
EARLIER:
Oscar Piastri’s mum has jokingly turned down McLaren CEO Zak Brown’s offer of a flight to Japan, insisting it’s best she has her “anxiety attack in the comfort of my own home.”
Piastri will start the Japanese Grand Prix on the front row for the first time in his career at P2, behind only Red Bull sensation Max Verstappen.
It is a remarkable achievement from the Australian, especially considering it is his rookie season.
Immediately after Piastri qualified for the front row, his mother Nicole took to social media to share her delight.
In response to a post from McLaren’s official account, Nicole wrote: “Anyone got a cheap flight to Japan?”
Brown was then informed of her query during an interview with Sky Sports and he was all too happy to help out.
“I’m very happy to buy her airline tickets,” Brown said.
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“So, if you can get here, Mrs Piastri, we want to see you tomorrow!”
However, it now seems Nicole sadly won’t be in attendance at the Suzuka Circuit to watch her son.
“Thank you for the kind offer @ZBrownCEO but I think it’s best that I have my anxiety attack in the comfort of my own home,” Nicole wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“I do however intend to have mastered the art of meditation in time for the Vegas GP though.”
Brown was asked pre-race whether Norris could use an undercut to overtake Piastri like he did at the Hungarian Grand Prix and insisted it would be dependent on how the race played out.
“We’re going to kind of have to see how things play out and do what’s best for the team,” he told Sky Sports.
“I’m expecting an exciting race and hopefully we’ll have both cars on the podium. We’ve got a great line-up for the foreseeable future… Oscar’s driving like a pro.”
Piastri will start in the front row on Sunday, just ahead of McLaren teammate Lando Norris after an impressive performance in his first appearance at Suzuka.
The Australian will be looking to improve on a career-best performance at the British Grand Prix, where he qualified third and went on to finish fourth, missing out on a first podium due to a safety Car deployment.
Piastri’s recent form had former driver and now Sky F1 pundit Karun Chandhok declaring the decision to replace Daniel Ricciardo with the 22-year-old as a “blinder”.
“I think he’s an A-lister, already established to be an equal to Lando and I think it’s really underlined McLaren’s fate and that big decision,” Chandhok said on Sky Sports before Sunday’s race.
“It was a big call to pay Daniel Ricciardo, basically for a year, to not drive for McLaren. He’d had a couple of tough years. They went with a rookie to replace an established star in Daniel and it’s paid off and they rewarded Oscar with the contract now for the next three years.
“I think they pulled a blinder there, putting Oscar alongside Lando and I’m very pleased and happy to see him repaying that faith McLaren have put in him.”
JAPANESE GP STARTING GRID
P1: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
P2: Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
P3: Lando Norris (McLaren)
P4: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
P5: Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
P6: Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)
P7: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
P8: George Russell (Mercedes)
P9: Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
P10: Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
P11: Liam Lawson (AlphaTauri)
P12: Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
P13: Alexander Albon (Williams)
P14: Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
P15: Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
P16: Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
P17: Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
P18: Nico Hulkenburg (Haas)
P19: Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo)
P20: Logan Sargeant (Williams)
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