Updated ,first published
Suzuka, Japan: Besieged Australian Formula 1 ace Oscar Piastri reversed his nightmarish fortunes to start his season, topping the timesheets with a blistering lap in the second practice session on Friday ahead of Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Piastri didn’t even make it to the start of his home race in Melbourne before spinning into a wall. He then suffered embarrassing mechanical gremlins, along with teammate and reigning world champion Lando Norris, that prevented their McLarens from lining up on the grid in China. But he clocked 1 minute, 30.133 seconds in FP2 at Suzuka, followed on the timesheets by the in-form Mercedes pairing of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, Norris, and Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
It was off the track that four-time world champion Max Verstappen made headlines – ordering a journalist to “get out” of a scheduled media session after objecting to a question he asked last year.
“I’m not speaking before he’s leaving,” Verstappen said, indicating at reporter Giles Richards of British newspaper The Guardian, as the question and answer session was due to begin in Red Bull’s hospitality area.
Richards approached the table where Verstappen was sitting and tried to plead his case. Verstappen told him to “get out” and Richards left.
Verstappen indicated he objected to a question Richards asked in December after the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Richards asked Verstappen whether losing out to Lando Norris by two points for the title might lead him to regret an incident earlier in the year when he collided with Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix. That earned Verstappen a time penalty which cost the Dutch driver valuable points.
“You forget all the other stuff that happened in my season. The only thing you mention is Barcelona. I knew that would come,” Verstappen answered.
“You’re giving me a stupid grin now. I don’t know. Yeah, it’s part of racing at the end. You live and learn. The championship is one of 24 rounds. I’ve also had a lot of early Christmas presents given to me in the second half, so you can also question that.”
Richards wrote in a column for The Guardian on Thursday that he was “deeply disappointed” by what happened and questioned whether Verstappen “was simply enjoying the power dynamic?”
“I still admire Verstappen and I hope we can enjoy a better relationship in the future. Sometimes, difficult, awkward questions have to be asked. That’s the job that comes with the privilege,” Richards added.
Four-time champion Verstappen heads into Sunday’s race at Suzuka, the third of the season, after a difficult start to the year.
He and Red Bull have so far been unable to match the pace of leading team Mercedes and Verstappen has made clear his dislike of F1’s new era of regulations, which place more emphasis on electrical power.
Piastri was happy to outline what would bring a smile back to his face at Suzuka.
“Start the race – that would probably help!” joked the self-deprecating Australian.
Piastri was in no position to make any grandiose predictions about round three of championship.
“Just to take part in the grand prix, that would be good. We’ll try and at least see the lights come on this week and go from there,” said the 24-year-old with a smile.
“But I think we kind of know where we sit in the pecking order, so we’re not expecting too many surprises there. Just executing a solid weekend would be good.”
Suzuka is the last race weekend on the calendar for five weeks, given the cancelled events in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Russell and Antonelli were quickest in the first practice for Sunday’s race. Russell’s session-leading time was 1 minute 31.666 seconds.
Piastri missed out in Melbourne because of a reconnaissance-lap crash and then got scuppered by a power unit electrical problem in Shanghai, which also ruined Norris’ weekend.
The pair then had to watch another one-two for Mercedes, with Piastri outlining just how far behind the German team McLaren still are.
“Obviously, we’re optimistic that we can turn things round quickly and we’ve proven we can do that,” said Piastri. “It is a massive gap to close, though. Even the sprint race in China, the gap is up to a second a lap that we’re lacking.
“So even if we bring some of the upgrades we had in 2023 that vaulted us towards the front of the grid, we need more than one of those to close the gap … we need to find quite a lot from various areas.”
Without any track time in the grand prix races themselves, Piastri shrugged: “Just trying to put in good performances, that’s all I can do. I’ve been happy with my qualifying so far this year.
“It’s just I’ve not had any chances to show it in the race. Clearly the picture is that we’re we’re behind Mercedes and Ferrari, so all I can do is just when I’m on track, show what I can do.”
McLaren are third in the overall standings, but already 80 points behind leaders Mercedes and 49 adrift of second-placed Ferrari.
AP, AAP
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