Piastri encouraged by progress as McLaren get 'closer' to Mercedes

Oscar Piastri secured his first top-three qualifying result of the season at the Japanese Grand Prix. After a challenging start to the year marked by reliability issues and missed races, the McLaren driver impressed at Suzuka, finishing P3 behind the Mercedes duo of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell. Piastri acknowledged that McLaren still trails Mercedes in pure pace, noting a 0.354s gap to pole position. However, he expressed satisfaction with the team's progress, attributing their improved performance to better optimization of the car's existing package rather than new upgrades. Teammate Lando Norris also showed strong form, qualifying in fifth despite earlier technical struggles.