Oscar Piastri predicts 'spanners in the works' in home victory pledge

Oscar Piastri is targeting more than just a podium finish in the Australia Grand Prix, despite acknowledging potential "spanners in the works" at Albert Park.

The two-time grand prix winner was satisfied with the first day of the new F1 season, but did highlight that McLaren still has some things to "iron out" ahead of FP3 and qualifying.

Having been XXX in the first free practice session of the year, Piastri was second quickest in the final hour of running on Friday, just +0.124 behind pace-setter Charles Leclerc.

Expectations are high for him in Melbourne, with the Australian kicking off an F1 season with his home event for the first time in his career.

"I would say pretty encouraging," Piastri said reflecting on his day after the second free practice session. "I think the pace was pretty solid.

"Still a few things to try my iron out, to make the car feel a bit nicer, but I think the underlying pace seems strong, so I'm pretty happy with the day's work.

"Think it's going to be pretty different for the next two days, so how much today means, we don't know, but feels pretty good."

Aiming for the top step

With team-mate Lando Norris having topped FP1, Piastri did not lead the charge at Albert Park, but is undeniably in the mix.

However, adverse weather conditions forecast for the grand prix on Sunday could prove difficult for the teams and drivers to prepare for and navigate, which the McLaren driver is expecting.

When asked if he was confident of securing a home grand prix podium, which would make him the first Australian to achieve the feat, Piastri set his sights even higher.

"It's hard to say," the 23-year-old replied. "The weather's going to be pretty different on Sunday, and it's going to throw some spanners in the works, but I think the underlying pace of the car seems strong.

"Ferrari looked pretty quick today, and Mercedes at other points as well. So yeah, think things are looking good, but we don't want to just try to aim for the podium, we want to aim for the top step."