Oscar Piastri was mobbed by two cars in a wild three-wide moment late in opening practice for the Japanese Grand Prix.
With seconds left on the clock, Piastri was completing a longer race run when he was passed simultaneously by the Alpine of Pierre Gasly and the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
The trio were briefly three-wide as they approached the high-speed turn one – the scene of Jack Doohan’s massive crash last year.
READ MORE: Finish or bust: Why this race could make or break Piastri’s season
READ MORE: ‘Get out’: Verstappen ejects reporter after fiery clash
EXCLUSIVE: Bathurst champ takes swipe at old team over ‘bitter’ split
“Well, that didn’t go well,” the young Aussie quipped on team radio.
In commentary, 2009 world champion Jenson Button said completing a double overtake is a “lovely feeling” even if it is just practice.
Oscar Piastri was mugged by two rivals in opening practice for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. FOX Sports
He said Piastri would have been frustrated by the move.
“Frustrated is what he’ll be feeling right now, because he’s just trying to get his laps in and now he’s stuck behind an Alpine again.”
Button explained it could very easily have become a crash.
“It’s such a tricky position to find yourself in … Oscar doesn’t know there are two cars inside him at this point. He’s thinking ‘why is this guy pushing me so wide’, but he has to give room to Charles on the inside.”
Former driver Karun Chandhok said becoming involved in these kind of battles in practice can still be beneficial for the drivers.
Piastri ended the session fourth-fastest. Getty
“It was fun to see – I think Oscar had finished his lap and was backing out of it. I don’t think he expected to see the Ferrari on the inside of the Alpine,” he said.
“I think it’s useful for them too to see what it’s like to follow another car … that’s useful information to know for the race, how closely can I follow, how will the car react.”
Piastri and his McLaren teammate Lando Norris finished the session third and fourth, less than two tenths behind the pace-setting Mercedes duo of George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.
There was some concern earlier in the session for Norris. The reigning champion emerged from the pits for an installation lap early in the session with a stack of aero sensors strapped to the car, but it would be another 20 minutes before he returned to the track.
Elsewhere, Sergio Perez and Alex Albon will visit the stewards’ office after they collided at the chicane in the closing minutes.
Albon sent his Williams up the inside of the Mexican’s Cadillac. Having clearly not seen the Williams, Perez turned in.
Albon spun out, and bits of his Williams were left scattered all over the track.
It was the second big moment of the session for Albon, who had earlier managed to escape a brush the the barrier without damage.
The Red Bull pair of Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar were buried well down the order despite the team having brought a stack of upgrades to Suzuka, including a new floor, new engine cover and new sidepods.
Verstappen finished the session seventh, nearly eight tenths down on Russell, with Hadjar down in 13th.
Japanese Grand Prix practice one resultsPosDriverTeamTimeDiff.1George RussellMercedes1:31.666—2Kimi AntonelliMercedes1:31.6920.0263Lando NorrisMcLaren1:31.7980.1324Oscar PiastriMcLaren1:31.8650.1995Charles LeclercFerrari1:31.9550.2896Lewis HamiltonFerrari1:32.0400.3747Max VerstappenRed Bull1:32.4570.7918Liam LawsonRacing Bulls1:32.5290.8639Esteban OconHaas1:32.6010.93510Arvid LindbladRacing Bulls1:32.6650.99911Gabriel BortoletoAudi1:32.7591.09312Nico HulkenbergAudi1:32.7981.13213Isack HadjarRed Bull1:32.8031.13714Oliver BearmanHaas1:32.9001.23415Pierre GaslyAlpine1:32.9781.31216Franco ColapintoAlpine1:33.3611.69517Carlos SainzWilliams1:33.3831.71718Alexander AlbonWilliams1:33.6972.03119Sergio PerezCadillac1:34.2212.55520Valtteri BottasCadillac1:34.4902.82421Lance StrollAston Martin1:35.2943.62822Jak CrawfordAston Martin1:36.3624.696