Lando Norris: "I'm very happy with today, we had a competitive car, and I could fight in Qualifying with good laps, especially in Q3. It's always enjoyable to come here in front of the fans and I'm pleased to have secured P3 on the grid going into tomorrow's race.

"We've had a good car all weekend and taken steps forward which is pleasing. We're working hard and that hard work is gradually paying off. Today's a good start to the weekend but tomorrow's where we have the opportunity to score strong points as a team."

Oscar Piastri: "P6 in quali, I just didn't quite have it from Q2 onwards, struggling to find the rhythm which is frustrating. I've got a couple of areas to focus on overnight with my engineers, but it seems very tight out there. Tomorrow's a good opportunity for me to improve and secure points in the race."

Andrea Stella, Team Principal: "It was a positive Qualifying session for the team. P3 and P6 today puts us in position to score good points tomorrow. It's also gratifying to see we are the second-best team behind Red Bull - albeit with the caveat that we know this track suits the characteristics of our car and it's only qualifying conditions.

"Praise goes to both Lando and Oscar for putting together good laps in Q1 and Q2, enabling them to progress through those sessions on only one set of tyres each, keeping two new sets for Q3. The drivers and the whole team have done a good job so far. We now have to prepare well and capitalise on today with a strong race result tomorrow."

Check out our Saturday gallery from Suzuka here.