McLaren’s Formula One team boss, Zak Brown, extended an offer to fly Oscar Piastri’s mother to Japan after the young Australian driver secured a front-row starting position for the upcoming race at Suzuka.
Piastri previously earned a spot on the front row for the Belgian GP sprint in July, but the event in Japan marks his first complete Grand Prix start from that position.
Brown expressed his happiness to purchase an airline ticket for Nicole Piastri, the mother of the talented driver after she responded to a celebratory social media post from McLaren with a request for a cheap flight to Japan.
“So if you can get here Mrs. Piastri, we want to see you tomorrow,” he added.
Nicole Piastri has gained a considerable following on X, formerly Twitter, for her humorous remarks regarding her son’s career.
When McLaren announced her son’s contract extension to 2026, Nicole exclaimed, “What!! So we are doing this for another 3 years???”.
Saturday’s qualifying session saw Lando Norris take third place, with Red Bull’s championship leader, Max Verstappen, taking pole position.
McLaren’s impressive turnaround after a slow start to the season continued, with Piastri and the rest of the team looking faster than engine provider Mercedes, despite trailing in the standings.
Norris has claimed second place in three of the last six races.
Brown praised Piastri’s driving skills, stating, “It’s exactly why we signed him up for another three years. I think our driver pairing is awesome.”
He added that the team is working exceptionally well together, with Andrea Stella’s leadership being fantastic.
Brown believes that McLaren can finish with a couple of cars on the podium and is hoping to outpace Verstappen at the start of the race to give him some competition.
Piastri benefited from upgrades to his car that Norris had already utilized during the previous weekend’s Singapore race.
Additionally, the Australian driver reported that McLaren had made some positive adjustments following Friday’s practice.
Piastri expressed excitement about starting on the front row, stating that it had been a while since he had done so. He intends to overtake the single car ahead of him and improve upon his previous successes.
Piastri will be only the fifth Australian driver to start a Grand Prix on the front row in the history of the championship.
Despite this achievement, he remains focused on surpassing other records and earning a place on the list of great Australian drivers.
“A nice start, but of course, I want to be able to do more,” he said.
