Scuderia Ferrari
A majestic performance from start to finish would be an excellent way to sum up Scuderia Ferrari HP’s 2024 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc took command of the race from the start and controlled it to the end, while Carlos Sainz did not have too much of a struggle to move up to second place, running an aggressive strategy, combined with the SF-24s excellent tyre management properties.
An impeccable job from the drivers, mechanics, engineers and strategists and the team back in Maranello delivered the Scuderia’s 87th one-two finish, the second this season after Australia and the third with this driver pairing. Between today’s race and the Sprint, the team picked up 55 points, a record for the team. This means that Scuderia Ferrari HP still can fight for the constructors’ title, currently 54 points behind McLaren and only eight behind Red Bull. It is Ferrari’s 247th Formula 1 win, Leclerc’s eighth, which keeps him third in the Drivers’ standings, with Carlos still fifth after securing his sixth podium finish of the season.
Carlos Sainz #55
This was the perfect weekend for the team, so mega congrats to everyone here and at home. My race was compromised at the start as I got blocked by Lando (Norris) and Max (Verstappen) fighting in front of me, which meant I did the first stint in Max’s dirty air. We had an issue, and for some laps, I was concerned, but we managed to address it and used our pace to undercut Max and finish in P2.
It’s great to be able to go on the attack with this car, and we want to fight until the last race for the Constructors’ Championship. We must continue working like this for the remaining races, starting in Mexico City next week.
Charles Leclerc #16
Bringing home a victory at the start of this triple-header feels good. The whole team did a fantastic job to make this happen, and a 1-2 score brings us a good amount of points in the fight for the constructors’ title. It’s an optimistic target, but we will never stop dreaming until it is done.
I had a good start, leveraging that Max (Verstappen) pushed hard into turn 1, and Lando (Norris) defended from him. I lined up my exit and overtook both of them. After that, I knew it would be a matter of taking good care of my tyres and just bringing it home.
Our pace was strong from the first lap onwards, and I felt I could pull away from Max quite comfortably. We’ve made a perfect step in terms of our race trim, and hopefully, we will keep it up in the next few races. We will do everything to maximise our results, and at the end of the year, we will do the maths and see where we stand.
Frédéric Vasseur – Team Principal
It was the perfect Sunday. We did a very good job this weekend, scoring many points, but we must stay focused and not think we are champions just because of today’s result. Our pace was always under control, as was the strategy with both drivers and when you have the slight advantage we had today, it is much easier to do a good job. The car has improved a lot in terms of driveability compared to where we were a few races ago, which has contributed to the result.
Charles had a perfect start and managed the tyres well, while with Carlos, we had to pit him earlier than planned in order to undercut Max (Verstappen). Once he was in free air, he was able to set his pace, and he was able to secure second place.
Next week in Mexico will be a completely different story with the altitude making it a one-off race, adding to the challenge, where you must focus a lot on cooling. Just because you are quick in Austin doesn’t mean you will be fast in Mexico. This one-two is excellent motivation for next week. As for the championship, we are taking it one race at a time, but plenty of points are still available, including those from the Sprints, so everything is still possible. Now we are entirely focussed on Mexico, hoping to continue this positive trend.
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