McLaren detail Japanese GP 'surprise' after Mercedes scrap

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has conceded to surprise over his squad's competitiveness during the Japanese Grand Prix.

Oscar Piastri took the lead on the opening lap of the race as he rocketed off the line to move ahead of Mercedes duo Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.

He was then involved in a battle with Russell, but managed to stay ahead of the Mercedes driver for the entire opening stint.

Piastri only lost the lead through the timing of a safety car, which allowed Antonelli to slip into first place after taking a cheap pit stop.

Nevertheless, Stella was amazed by Piastri's pace versus Russell.

“First of all, it's a very positive day overall for the team,” Stella told the media, including RacingNews365. “We were in condition to start the race with two cars, which is the first time this year.

“We were in condition to complete the race. We confirmed the progress that we saw yesterday in qualifying, progress that allowed Oscar to lead the race after a very good start.

“We were surprised ourselves, especially at the end of the first stint, where we not only were able to keep Russell behind, but we were also opening the gap at the end of the first stint.

“So we thought that we should go first so that we could retain the lead because we wanted to give it a go at winning the race.”

Hard to know about Piastri victory chances

Piastri went on to finish the race in second as he got his season up and running following two non-starts at the opening two rounds.

Despite Piastri's push for victory at Suzuka, Stella theorised that the Australian would have struggled to hold off Antonelli even without the intervention of the safety car.

“We will never know whether, without the safety car, it would have been possible or not,” he said. “I think it would have been possible against Russell.

“Antonelli, he had a faster pace than anybody else. So I think Antonelli, at some stage, would have competed for the victory.

“So we will not know whether Oscar could have won the race or not.

“Ultimately, it doesn't make a big difference. I think today we should just take the positives.”