McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have singled out Mercedes as the team which is poised to be its closest threat at the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix.
The Woking-based squad emphasised its status as the team to beat at Suzuka as Norris and Piastri exchanged spells at the top in the opening two practice sessions.
Norris headed the timesheets in FP1, while Piastri edged his team-mate to top spot in a truncated FP2 session that included restricted running due to four stoppages.
Norris has acknowledged the Woking-based squad has seemed to maintain the competitive edge which has seen the side begin the season with successive victories.
However, the Briton isn’t discounting the challenge Mercedes might provide as George Russell ended less than two-tenths behind his compatriot in the earlier session.
“I still think we’re at the top, but George was very quick this morning, just as quick as us,” Norris said.
“So, I think Mercedes are in a good place. Maybe Red Bull looked a little bit further off, but they have looked further off into qualifying and then they get a bit closer again.
“FP2 was just a messy session, so I don’t think this session was probably the best example of where everyone was.
“I think maybe FP1 was a better example that you kind of saw teams in order. But I still expect it to be close and a tough battle tomorrow.
“I hope it’s nice and easy for us, but I’m sure Mercedes at least – and definitely George from today’s showing – will be challenging us a bit tomorrow.
“We made some steps forward, but there are still some things to try and improve. It was tricky just because of the wind.
“You’re on such a fine limit for such a long time, like the first sector.
“The tiniest bit of wind can really upset the car quite a lot. I’m sure everyone is struggling with a similar thing.”
McLaren drivers aligned on Mercedes threat
Piastri was aligned with his team-mate’s assessment regarding the German marque’s pace when asked to assess the pecking order in Japan: “It’s really hard to know.
“In FP1 it was difficult to get pace out of the car. In FP2 I was much more comfortable, but I think Mercedes looked very quick as well.
“I’m 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, so I think we’ve still got to be on our toes.”
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