Oscar Piastri amazed by 'surprise team in the mix’ at Monza

Oscar Piastri has admitted surprise over Williams' F1 form following the opening day of practice at the Italian Grand Prix.

The Monza track has often been a circuit at which the Grove-based squad has performed well in recent years.

Amid its strong ongoing campaign, it enjoyed a strong Friday at the Italian circuit with Carlos Sainz ending the second practice session in third place.

There were tight margins at the top of the timesheets as less than a tenth of a second separated the top three drivers.

When asked if he was surprised by how close it was at the front of the field, Piastri said: “A little bit, yes.

“It was also who was in the mix, was a bit of a surprise. The Williams looked strong in both sessions, so let's see if they're still in the mix [on Saturday].

“It's going to be a close weekend.”

Piastri sat out the opening practice session to make way for F1 rookie Alex Dunne, before he climbed behind the wheel for FP2.

The championship leader ended the outing in fourth place as he highlighted improvements need to be found ahead of qualifying on Saturday.

“Today has been a good day,” he said.

“Not doing FP1, I had a bit of catching up to do in FP2, but I feel like I hit the ground running and the car felt pretty good. 

“I just got the setup maybe a little bit wrong on the softs. The second lap was pretty decent, considering it was the second lap on the tyre. 

“So I'm feeling pretty good. Just need to tweak a little bit more tomorrow and find a little bit more pace, like usual.”