An incredible lap from Max Verstappen saw the Red Bull driver claim pole ahead of Lando Norris and Piastri during Saturday’s qualifying session.
The margin between the three is just 0.04, with Piastri left to rue a mistake in the opening sector of his final flying lap.
“It wasn’t my best, Sector 1,” he confessed.
“I lost a little bit of time compared to the first lap of Q3, and yeah, when the gap’s four hundredths from first to third, you think about it quite a bit.
“I’ve been pretty comfortable through qualifying,” he added.
“I think the first lap of Q3 was a good one, the second one just a little bit off the mark in a couple of places.
“I’ve had to dial myself in a bit more this weekend than I did last race and it’s taken a bit longer to get there.
“But looking at the margins and how it performed, I’ve been pretty happy.
“Just those little margins – when it’s so tight – make all the difference, clearly.”
McLaren looked the team to beat heading into qualifying, along with George Russell, though the Mercedes driver faltered in Qualifying 3.
With Norris and Piastri also unable to drive home their single lap pace advantage, Verstappen took full advantage.
“I think we’ve got good pace,” Piastri said with a view to the race.
“The others have not been as far away as people think; you never quite know with engine modes and stuff like that and [Free Practice 3] was pretty tight.
“I think it’s not a massive surprise. I think Max has obviously done a great job getting up on pole.
“But we’ve also got a great car for [the race] and still in the fight for the win.”
Rain overnight around Suzuka has continued into the morning, increasing the prospect of a wet race and allaying fears of further grass fires.
The weather is expected to get heavier as the morning wears on, but ease ahead of the race starting at 14:00 local time (15:00 AEST).
“I think our pace has been good in all conditions so far this year, and I welcome whatever comes,” Piastri said.
“Obviously the game plan is to try and finish two spots ahead of where I’m starting. But apart from that, we’ll see what we get.”
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