Oscar Piastri delivers surprise verdict over critical Japanese GP moment

Oscar Piastri has declared his race start in Japan was not “super special” despite progressing from third to first on the opening lap.

Having failed to start the opening two rounds of the year, Piastri managed to take the start procedure at Suzuka amid a trouble-free weekend.

Starting behind the Mercedes duo of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell, Piastri had the stronger launch off the line and found himself in the lead by the opening corner.

Mercedes has proven to be weak at opening laps this year, having lost the lead to a second-row starter at every round so far.

But the Australian has asserted nothing felt spectacular about his own start in Japan.

“I thought it was good, but I didn’t think it was super special,” Piastri told media including RacingNews365.

“I saw Kimi go into wheelspin straight away and I didn’t really see what George was doing, and then obviously having to go around Kimi meant that the rest of my start was a little bit compromised. 

“It was good enough to get into the lead, which was great. So yes, clearly that was a good strength of ours today.”

Piastri held the lead throughout the opening stint, but conceded position to Antonelli when the latter made a pit stop under safety car conditions.

The McLaren driver went on to score McLaren's first podium of the campaign, but admitted disappointment over not having the chance to defend his lead in ordinary circumstances.

“I would have loved to have seen how it would have panned out,” Piastri said.

“I need to look back and see whether Kimi was quicker than George or similar pace. 

“If he was the same pace as George, then it would have been a pretty stressful afternoon because I probably would have had both of them right on my gearbox. 

“Once Kimi had clean air, clearly, he was a lot faster than me. So, I’m not sure we would have won the race, but I certainly would have loved to have found out.”