2025 Japanese Grand Prix – McLAREN Qualifying Report "It’s all to play for tomorrow"

Suzuka Circuit, Saturday, 5 April

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

LN4
FP3 1m27.965s 17 laps 1st
Q1 1m27.845s (Soft)   3rd
Q2 1m27.146s (Soft)   1st
Q3 1m26.995s (Soft)   2nd

"We can be happy with that. The team have done a great job this weekend and I feel that I got everything out of the car today. The final lap felt strong because I was on the limit. It’s going to be an exciting race, we’re both starting up at the front and the weather conditions are looking mixed. Max is going to put up a good fight, but we’ve been here before and I’m looking forward to tomorrow."

OP81
FP3 1m27.991s (+0.026s) 17 laps 2nd
Q1 1m27.687s (Soft)   1st
Q2 1m27.507s (Soft)   4th
Q3 1m27.027s (Soft)   3rd

"It’s good to get both cars up there in the top three today. I felt good through much of Qualifying, and especially at the start of Q3 but that last lap didn’t quite come together as I wanted, so there was a little bit left on the table. We said coming into the season that there were going to be incredibly tight margins and today proved that.

"It’s all to play for tomorrow and we’ve got a great car. We don’t know what the weather’s going to do, but we’ve been quick on both dry and wet tracks already this year, so we should be up there fighting for the win. Let’s see what we can do."

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Limited edition Japan cap

Andrea Stella

"It’s been a good afternoon overall in which we’ve been competitive with both cars in every Qualifying session. We looked like we were on the way to Pole Position when Max managed to pull off what looks like a near-perfect lap – so credit to Max.

"On our side, we are still happy. P2 and P3 are good starting positions for the race tomorrow, during which the weather may offer some variables. The job before then is to prepare for all scenarios, and make sure we can capitalise on the car’s performance in race trim that has looked very strong so far this year in both wet and dry conditions."