McLaren: We’re still behind Mercedes and Ferrari despite topping FP2 in Japan

Oscar Piastri went quickest in second practice at the Japanese Grand Prix, but McLaren still thinks it is the third-fastest team in F1 2026

McLaren is expecting no changes to the 2026 Formula 1 pecking order despite a very strong showing in second practice at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.

The Woking outfit, which has won the last two titles, controlled FP2 via Oscar Piastri, whose world champion team-mate Lando Norris finished fourth amid issues with his hydraulics.

It was nonetheless some much-needed positivity for McLaren, which has endured a troubled start to the new regulation era with the competitive order being shaken up.

Piastri’s crash on the reconnaissance lap meant he didn’t take part in the Melbourne season opener, where Norris finished fifth, while both cars failed to start round two at Shanghai due to various mechanical issues.

It means McLaren is third in the championship on 18 points, also thanks to fourth and sixth in the China sprint, behind Ferrari and leader Mercedes, who’s won every race so far in 2026.

McLaren racing director Randy Singh said: “I think we made the most of FP2, obviously we had the hydraulic leak with Lando, we weren’t able to fully fix that for the session.

Randy Singh, McLaren

Photo by: Peter Fox / Getty Images

“But the team did a really good job to get as much running as we could and we tried to make the most of the learning we had there. Oscar finished P1, which I think is always nice to see, but similar to pace in Australia on Friday.

"I think the pecking order generally looks pretty much the same in broad terms.”

It added to the team’s third- (Norris) and fourth-place (Piastri) finishes in FP1 at Suzuka where Mercedes went 1-2, so Singh’s thoughts were echoed by McLaren in its press release.

“Despite Oscar topping the timesheets in FP2, the underlying pictures appear to have remained the same as previous races,” it stated, with Piastri also having topped second practice in Australia.

“Since the opening double-header, the team has worked hard to understand how to extract performance from the 2026 regulation power units, and some progress has been made in this area.

“However, with no upgrades to the car this weekend, our performance in FP2 is likely to be an outlier over the weekend, as it’s expected that Mercedes and Ferrari will resume their positions as the first and second fastest teams as we head into competitive running.”