Piastri surprised by Mercedes' performance: 'It's been a while'

"I'm feeling pretty confident, it should be an exciting race," Piastri said during the Drivers Parade on Sunday. "It's just started raining. We're out here, and the track's not fully dry yet, so it should be an exciting one. Having both McLarens up there is a really good thing."

Drivers from five different teams will make up the front six positions for the Grand Prix. This includes Mercedes, Red Bull Racing, McLaren, Visa Cash App RB, and Aston Martin. This is certainly one of the factors which makes the upcoming race more exciting for Piastri. "It's a bit of a jumbled-up grid I would say apart from where me and Lando are probably. It's been a while since Mercedes have been this quick. They've looked strong all weekend. We'll see who can hang on in the race. We'll see what the weather's going to do first because I think that's probably going to be the biggest influence," he said. 

'It's going to be an exciting one'

For Piastri, he looks to optimise the start of the race. He has even been through the archives to prepare: "I think at the start, you always try and take your opportunities when they come. But it's going to be a long race, especially if the weather's like this. I think it should be an exciting one. A long race. We've been watching Canada 2011 to get ready for it because it feels like it's one of those days. We'll see what we can do," the Australian concluded.