Jenson Button tempers expectations after Oscar Piastri tops Japanese GP FP2

2009 Formula 1 champion Jenson Button has tempered expectations after McLaren’s Oscar Piastri topped the timesheets in FP2 ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.

While the Australian driver edged out the dominant Mercedes drivers, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, in the second practice session at Suzuka, Button argued that the Brackley outfit will likely be holding some performance back.

“We don’t know what Mercedes is holding back, do we?” Button told Sky Sports F1. “But it’s been good. Oscar’s been on it all weekend. He’s had no issues whatsoever all day, so he looks like he should be part of the team fighting for pole position.”

Piastri’s team-mate and 2025 champion Lando Norris finished FP2 with the fourth-fastest time, though he missed running time due to an expected hydraulic issue.

“Hydraulic, I think, I couldn’t do more than one lap at the beginning, and then it seemed to get a bit better at the end, but I just lacked a lot of laps,” Norris told the media after the practice session.

Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images

Former Aston Martin strategist and Sky Sports F1 presenter Bernie Collins added: “But Lando’s got a lot of experience. It’s not ideal to miss laps in an FP session at any circuit, particularly here.

“I think it is about the driver getting their confidence, getting through those Esses, learning about the car. But he’ll go through all of Oscar’s data, figure out what the differences are across the car. He’ll have FP3. Maybe he’ll do a few extra laps in that session. So I think someone of Lando Norris’s ability will recover.”

McLaren has had a difficult start to the season. While Norris picked up 10 points with a fifth-place finish in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and five points with a fourth-place finish in the Chinese sprint race, both drivers failed to start the Chinese Grand Prix. In fact, Piastri is yet to start a grand prix in 2026.

Photos from Japanese GP – Friday