Piastri topped second practice yesterday after a steady start to the day that left him only 15th.
“FP1 was difficult to get pace out of the car,” he explained.
“I think FP2 I was much more comfortable, but I think Mercedes looked very quick as well.
“Just didn’t find much on the sorts which, I think with this kind of session, is always a bit tricky to get a proper read.
“The pace is there and feeling confident that we’ve got good pace for the rest of the weekend, but it’s still a little bit tricky at this point.
“We’ve still got to be on our toes.”
Piastri’s Free Practice 2-topping comes with an asterisk, as not all runners banked a representative lap courtesy of four red flags interrupting proceedings.
That saw more than half the allotted hour spent in the garage, with Piastri managing just 13 laps of the Suzuka circuit in the session.
It’s a venue that has undergone some changes since F1’s last visit, with gravel traps moved closer to the edge of the track in some locations, and the opening sector resurfaced.
“With the part of the track being resurfaced and very gusty wings, it’s been a challenge,” Piastri noted.
“Around here, it’s somewhere where the wind really changes the balance a lot, and when it’s gusty like this, I don’t think you have the same car two laps in a row.
“So it’s been a pretty tricky day,” he added.
“Obviously, FP2 was pretty stop-start, so it was hard to get into a rhythm, but I think by the end of the day, I felt reasonably comfortable.
“Still some fine-tuning to go.
“There’s been some things I’ve been happy with today, but it’s not been the easiest overall.”
Final practice for the Japanese Grand Prix begins at 13:30 AEDT.
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