Piastri and his McLaren team-mate Lando Norris demonstrated strong pace throughout the opening day’s running in Albert Park on Friday.
The local favourite was second fastest in Free Practice 2 after Norris topped the earlier session.
It was a performance that followed on from a strong showing during pre-season testing that has left many to single McLaren out as the early title favourites.
That’s a target team boss Andrea Stella has attempted to dodge, citing fuel and power modes, the weather, and unique nature of the Bahrain circuit where testing was held.
However, the performances of Piastri and Norris in Melbourne has served only to underscore the belief the papaya squad will heavily feature towards the front of the F1 pack.
“Pretty encouraging,” Piastri said of his opening day.
“I think the pace was pretty solid. Still, a few things to try and iron out make the car feel a bit nicer, but I think the underlying pace seems strong.
“So pretty happy with the day’s work.”
Long-range forecasts heading into this weekend’s event predicted a chance of late showers on Sunday.
As the weekend has drawn closer, that risk has only increased, with the latest reports from the Bureau of Meteorology noting a “very high chance of showers, most likely in the morning and afternoon.”
There is also a chance of rain on Saturday, though it’s a much lower threat and conditions are instead predicted to be overcast for the all-important qualifying session.
With Friday’s practice held under sunny skies, the weather offers teams and drivers a moving target when it comes to car set-up.
“It’s going to be pretty different for the next two days,” Piastri warned of the weather.
“So how much today means, we don’t know, but it feels pretty good.”
So positive was the opening day performance that Piastri allowed himself to dream.
No Australian has ever won the Australian Grand Prix since the world championship began visiting our shores since 1985.
Off the back of Friday’s performance, it’s a record Piastri is looking to break.
“The weather is going to be pretty different on Sunday, and that’s going to throw some spanners in the works, but I think the underlying pace of the car seems strong,” he said.
“Ferrari looks pretty quick [on Friday] and Mercedes at other points as well.
“Things are looking good, but we don’t want to just try and end for the podium, we want to aim for the top.”
Final practice for Sunday’s Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix begins today at 12:30 AEDT ahead of Qualifying from 16:00 AEDT.
