Albert Park marked McLaren’s first podium of the season as the Woking squad solidified itself as the clear third-best team in Formula 1.

However, Oscar Piastri suggests its pace in Melbourne flattered the team somewhat, especially given the early demise of Max Verstappen.

“It flattered a little bit,” Piastri said of the Albert Park circuit playing to McLaren’s strengths.

“But I think in Saudi Arabia we looked quite strong – just that Red Bull looked very good.

“Without having Max in the race in Melbourne, we’ll never fully know just where Red Bull stood last race, but I think we’re in decent shape.

“And I think Melbourne was about where we expected to be, to be honest, and hopefully we can be in a similar place here.”

Suzuka proved a happy hunting ground in 2023 for the team, leading to high hopes at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.

Piastri recorded his first F1 podium at the venue last September as McLaren emerged as the nearest rival to Verstappen and Red Bull Racing.

This year’s Japanese GP comes much earlier in the season and will go some way to filling in the picture of where each team stands.

Though Piastri suggests Albert Park played to his car’s strengths, he also believes its early-season pace is genuine.

“I think the pace we’ve had so far in the year has been, honestly, quite encouraging on some pretty different circuits,” the Australian noted.

“I think here should suit us on paper, of course, but I think what’s become clear in the last few races is that they’re not an outlier in being good just for us anymore.

“Ferrari have certainly made steps forward in their high-speed performance. Red Bull, obviously, is still strong. Aston Martin have made steps forward in the high-speed performance.

“So let’s say maybe the advantage we enjoyed at some of the high-speed circuits last year, I don’t think we enjoy as much anymore.

“I’m expecting the fight to be close,” he added.

“I’m expecting for it to be strong still but yes, compared to some other circuits, maybe it’ll still be a bit more friendly for us.”

While confident of a positive performance this weekend, Red Bull Racing is again tipped to set the pace.

“I’m expecting Red Bull to still be the team to beat this weekend, for sure,” Piastri reasoned.

“Even through practice in Melbourne, Ferrari looked incredibly strong and Max still qualified on pole.

“I think they’re still going to be the team to beat. I think Ferrari will be strong as well.

“I hope that we can be competitive, but I think Max and Red Bull Racing is still going to have the legs on everyone.”

While the Japanese GP will go someway to firm up the pecking order, it will also offer an early insight into Piastri’s growth.

The 22-year-old admitted he took the first half of last season learning the ropes in Formula 1 and the second half learning new tracks.

He came away from the year aware of the areas he needed to improve, with tyre management high on that list – the Japanese GP a prime example.

In Suzuka a year ago, he fell back from team-mate Lando Norris as he battled to keep the tyres underneath him on what was his first visit to the iconic venue.

“I feel like I’ve made good progress on that from last year,” Piastri said of his tyre management now.

“Bahrain and Melbourne were quite good tests of that, of being able to manage [the tyres] – Melbourne, quite different to Bahrain, but I feel like they’re both pretty successful

“Melbourne, couple of things where it went a bit wrong, but on the whole was definitely a better step forward than last year.

“I think here will be a good test,” he continued.

“The weather conditions are a bit different to what we had six months ago, could be some rain around, so we’ll see if I actually get the opportunity to work on it.

“But this is definitely one of the tracks to try and improve on that kind of thing, and I feel like it’s been good so far in the season.”

Opening practice in Japan begins on Friday at 13:30 AEDT.