Photo by Song Haiyuan/MB Media/Getty Images
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. locked out the front row in Austin, changing the Constructors’ Championship landscape
AUSTIN — The week began with Charles Leclerc, telling the assembled media inside Ferrari’s hospitality space, that they were not the “favorites” heading into the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix.
It ended with Leclerc on the top step and teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. alongside him, as Ferrari locked out the front row with a dominant performance in Austin, one that stands as the latest twist in a stunning F1 season.
While Lando Norris started up front alongside Max Verstappen, those two tangled into Turn 1 on the opening lap, opening the door for Leclerc to storm to the front of the field. Verstappen slid into second and Sainz crept up to third after starting fourth, as Norris was shuffled back to fourth.
Sainz was able to pick up second thanks to a well-executed undercut on Verstappen, and that paved the way for Ferrari’s incredible one-two.
“Very happy. I mean, it hasn’t been an easy weekend until now. I’ve been struggling a little bit with the feeling with the car, but I had the confidence that in the race the feeling was better, and it was the case,” said Leclerc trackside to Jenson Button after the race. “So we’ve seen it yesterday in the Sprint race. We were a bit not scared, but we thought that the others would improve a lot more today, but we still had the upper hand. So really happy with today. 1-2 for the team. We couldn’t have dreamed for better.”
Speaking with Button, Sainz credited tire management — once a thorn in Ferrari’s side — as a strength for the team this season.
Yeah, [tire management is] definitely the strength of the car this year. How long we can go on stints and how little [degredation] 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,” said Sainz. “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 tires, 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.”
With their strong performance, Ferrari turned what was looking like a two-team race for the Constructors’ Championship between McLaren and Red Bull into a three-way fight. At the moment McLaren leads the field with 544 points, followed by Red Bull with 504 points, and Ferrari right behind them with 496 points on the year.
Five race weekends are remaining, including two more F1 Sprint Races, so this fight is far from settled.
And might not be until Abu Dhabi.
