Piastri topped second practice in a session that saw next to no running as the weather closed in, the Australian one of just seven drivers to record a timed lap.

That followed reduced running in Free Practice 1 after Logan Sargeant crashed out midway through the hour-long session.

The stoppage lasted more than 10 minutes, and came at an awkward time as some teams and drivers had just begun their performance programmes.

“I think we’re in decent shape,” Piastri ventured.

“It’s a bit hard to know; even in Free Practice 1, the timing of the red flag was pretty awkward for us.

“So [it’s] a bit hard to know exactly where we stand, but I think we’re about where we have been, and I don’t really have much more than that at the moment!”

McLaren headed into this weekend cautiously optimistic, given its pace in Suzuka last year and its performances in the opening three rounds of 2024.

Last year, both Piastri and team-mate Lando Norris stood on the podium, the former’s first top-three finish in F1.

The papaya operation hasn’t enjoyed quite those highs this season, though it has been consistently third-best behind Red Bull Racing and Ferrari.

When Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez faltered in Australia, it was strong enough to capitalise with Norris third and Piastri fourth to the flag.

After the opening day’s running in Japan, the early-season trend appears to have been underlined; McLaren is towards the front but not at the very front.

“I think we’ve got a competitive car,” Piastri opined.

“It’ll be interesting to see if we can replicate the pace we had in Australia.

“Obviously, [Suzuka] was a good track for us last year, but I feel like other people have gained some more strength.

“We’ll see what we can do, but I think we’re reasonably optimistic we can be close to the front.”

A final hour of practice remains for drivers on Saturday ahead of qualifying, though the weather is poised to remain similar to what was seen on Friday: overcast skies and a 40 percent chance of rain throughout the day.

Free Practice 3 begins at 13:30 AEDT, ahead of qualifying at 17:00 AEDT.