2023 Japanese Grand Prix – free practice “It’s been a good first day, and as a team, I think it’s been a positive Friday”

Suzuka International Racing Course, Friday, 22 September

Hear from McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, and Team Principal Andrea Stella after practice for the Japanese Grand Prix.

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FP1 1m32.392s (+0.745) 24 laps 3rd
FP2 1m31.152s (+0.464s) 22 22 laps 3rd

“A positive day. I think our car is feeling reasonable. The balance is a bit all-over-the-place in these very low grip conditions, but I think it’s a problem the whole grid has. I’m finding small improvements here and there. The speed is relatively good and if we can tidy some things up, I think we can have a good day tomorrow.”

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FP1 1m32.713s  (+1.066s) 26 laps 7th
FP2 1m31.662 (+0.974s) 22 laps 8th

“A decent first day in Japan. I really enjoyed the circuit, it was a lot of fun. There are still some things I want to work on, but it’s been a good first day, and as a team, I think it’s been a positive Friday. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. Hopefully, we can improve a few things, but it’s been a good start.”

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“We’ve had a clean, productive first day at Suzuka. The team was able to complete our programme with no major issues for either car. The track presents some interesting challenges for set-up. The tyre degradation is high, but the grip level is low, so, there’s a few things we need to look into tonight, but overall the MCL60 seems to be behaving well. We’ll take a good look tonight at the information we acquired today, with a view to being as well-prepared as we can be for the rest of the weekend.”

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