Ferrari came home with a one-two at the United States Grand Prix in Austin. Charles Leclerc won his third race of the season ahead of his teammate Carlos Sainz had to settle for P2. The Spaniard said afterwards that he enjoys racing “a lot more” due to the low tyre degradation of the SF-24.
The Maranello based team was with Williams, the only outfit to not bring any upgrades to Austin. Chances were good anyway. Following a promising practice session, Leclerc and Sainz were in contention for Sprint Pole and Pole. In the Sprint, both drivers showed great race pace before confirming the pace in Sunday’s grand prix.
In the post-race interviews, Sainz explained he knew that the race would be decided at start, and that Lando Norris and championship rival Max Verstappen would battle each other into the first corner: “I knew a lot of the race was going to be decided at the start. I knew Lando and Max were going to go hard at it into Turn 1.”
Despite the great launch, the Spaniard couldn’t take the lead or at least pass Verstappen. He managed to take Norris’ third position. As the race progressed, Sainz took the chance to undercut Verstappen for second place. It worked out without problems, and he had track position for P2.
Asked about the tyre management, Sainz says it’s a strength of the Ferrari this year and that he enjoys to race more than last season.
“It’s definitely the strength of the car this year. How long we can go on stints and how little deg we have is something that I really enjoy and something that has made me enjoy racing a lot more this year than what I did last year.
“Last year, we spent all of the races defending, losing position. This year, it looks like we just can go on attack mode, don’t think too much about tyres, and just push and overtake, which is fun, and I’m enjoying it a lot, and I hope it stays like that until the end of the year.”
In the post-race press conference, the 30-year-old went further and put the tyre management with the strategic decisions of the team together. He used the Singapore Grand Prix as an example.
“I remember boxing in lap 14 of a 70-lap race or a 60-lap race and still making it to the end. With any other car or with any other year that we’ve had, where degradation and the car was weaker in the race, this wouldn’t be possible.
“So making bold strategy moves on race day wouldn’t be as easy, and you would look more crazy by doing them. And this year, having a car that degrades less the tyres and makes you more competitive on race day also allows you more flexibility and better opportunities to play with the strategy.”
With the one-two in Austin, Ferrari is closing in on Red Bull in the constructors’ championship. Only eight points is between them. McLaren remains in the lead by 40 points over the Austrian team.
As Norris finished the race in fourth, Leclerc is getting closer to him with 22 points behind. Sainz remains in fifth position, gaining on Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri.
