Oscar Piastri has deemed Japan “one of his best weekends in F1” after the Aussie finally got some runs on the board in 2026 and finished second in the grand prix.
After two DNS results in Australia and China, Piastri was overjoyed to start the race and get himself unscathed to the chequered flag, but the podium finish was a welcome bonus.
He now sits in sixth place in the championship on 21 points, thanks to the Japan result and his sixth place finish in the China sprint.
READ MORE: ‘Is it worth it?’: Max Verstappen ponders retirement
READ MORE: Kylie Minogue to headline 2026 AFL grand final entertainment
READ MORE: Distressing scenes as Flanagan stretchered off from KO
“This weekend was probably one of my best weekends in F1,” admitted Piastri.
“I hit the ground running in practice, qualifying, we did a really good job of getting the car into the window I was happy with on Friday.
Oscar Piastri found himself on the second step of the podium in Japan. Formula 1 via Getty Images
“In the race, yeah, there wasn’t anything more we could have done.
“We got a good start, the pace was good, I felt like I was strategic or smart with how I used the boost and how I managed that side of racing.
“Our strategy was good, we didn’t blink too early.
“Obviously, the safety car was a shame, but I think as race weekends go we couldn’t have done any better than that.
“For me I’m very happy with the performance that I put in, very happy with the performance from the whole team.”
The fight for the top step in the 2026 standings is now clearly with Ferrari and front-runners Mercedes.
With history-making Kimi Antonelli on 72 points, Piastri has a deficit of more than 50 points to the 19-year-old but the Aussie can easily make up points with the 19 races left in the season.
His teammate, current reigning world champion Lando Norris, is not far ahead, only on 25 points after he was also hit with a myriad of issues during the first three races of the season.
Race winner Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Second placed Oscar Piastri and Third placed Charles Leclerc on the podium. Getty
“Clearly, we’ve still got some…performance to find, but also Lando’s side of the garage was a pretty interrupted weekend with all the issues, and clearly the start of the season has not been easy for us with reliability, so we’ve got a long way to go,” Piastri said.
“But yeah, I think we showed that if we get everything as good as we can get it, then we can cause a few headaches.”
“Got a great start, and we managed to show a bit more of our competitive pace, especially in clean air,” said Norris after Suzuka.
“I’m pleased with how we managed the tyres…we’ve clearly made significant progress with our power unit deployment, and this track suited our car well.”
In his fourth season, Piastri is still relatively new to the sport but has cemented himself as a serious contender for top honours after his tense teammate fight in 2025.
The pressure is continuously mounting on the young driver to do what an Australian driver hasn’t done since Alan Jones in 1980, win an Formula 1 world championship.
“We know from last year that even when (Mercedes) have the best car, you still need to operate it at an incredibly high level,” Piastri added about the positive lessons he’s taking from the race.
Oscar Piastri and Mercedes driver George Russell fought in Japan for first place. Getty
“On our side, we did a really good job of that. But I think it’s interesting to see when someone else has the fastest car that it’s not that straightforward and I think the fact that I could keep George [Russell] behind for so long was really encouraging.
“But we’re under no illusion.
“We did everything right this weekend and we still got beaten by 15 seconds, so we’ve got a pretty big gap to fill. I’m confident that we can get there, but yes, we’ve still got some work to do.”
Piastri has five weeks of downtime during the cancellation of two grands prix and will return to the track in Miami on May 4.
Last time out in Miami, his team will be aiming to see a repeat of their 2025 performance where Piastri triumphed in style as McLaren dominated a 1-2 finish.