Oscar Piastri in Singapore - Photo: Race Pictures

Piastri says McLaren is in a "good place" ahead of Singapore qualifying

19:44, 03 Oct

Updated: 20:37, 03 Oct

byShayni Solanki

Oscar Piastri claims that the MCL39 was in a "good place" today after topping the timesheets in FP2 at the Singapore Grand Prix.

The championship leader was fifth fastest this morning during the first practice session around the Marina Bay Street Circuit, avoiding a close call with Lewis Hamilton during the closing stages of FP1.

He went on to secure the overall fastest time in the second practice session, claiming that he has "learned a lot" this afternoon.

"Found my feet on the medium at the end there, and then, yeah, soft felt good," Piastri told F1 TV.

"So, yeah, obviously not much representative kind of race running, but no, the car's been in a good place.

"Feel like I've learned a lot through today, and that's the aim of practice. So, it's been a good day."

Oscar Piastri in his garage - Photo: Race Pictures

"Here, qualifying is a massive part of the weekend; it's a massive part everywhere, but I think especially here, it's one of the most important.

"So you'd rather qualify further up and deal with the unknown for the race than qualify further back and you never know exactly what's gonna happen in the race, so [qualifying further back], it's not really gonna help you."

The Kiwi driver has a chance to claim his first pole position at the Marina Bay Street Circuit tomorrow, potentially adding to his tally of five poles this season.

Piastri currently sits atop the Drivers' Standings, with a 25-point lead over his teammate Lando Norris, who was 0.483s slower than Piastri in FP2.

Norris secured the fifth fastest time this afternoon behind Fernando Alonso, who put in a brilliant performance in FP1 to go fastest overall.

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