Carlos Sainz Jr. feels “hopeful” after finishing 2nd in the F1 sprint at the US Grand Prix
AUSTIN — Ferrari arrived in Austin for this weekend's U.S. Grand Prix unsure of its place in the pecking order. Recent upgrades to the SF-24 have yielded good results at Monza and Azerbaijan, but Charles Leclerc, speaking to the media on Thursday, wondered if it was a circuit-specific result or whether it would be better at the Circuit of the Americas. He also voiced doubts as to whether he would be able to take over the role.
After three sessions on track, Ferrari's confidence in a good result here in Austin must be growing.
Leclerc finished the F1 sprint race in fourth place, with Carlos Sainz Jr. overtaking Lando Norris in Turn 1 on the final lap, leaving him with a chance of finishing second.
He spoke in response to a question from Salil Kapur at the FIA press conference after the F1 sprint race. NBC NewsSainz said the positive result gave him “good hope” for the rest of the season.
“The rest of the year gives me good hope,” Sainz began.
However, the Ferrari driver said qualifying later today will be important if he wants to get a win here in Austin on Sunday.
“I think we need to focus on qualifying now. I think qualifying is a very important part of this week and it seems like our car has been racing a little bit better lately than qualifying,” Sainz said. I started. “And now we need to see if we can qualify.”
Sainz has set a goal for the second half today: top three. In his estimation, starting in one of the top three positions will give him a chance to win on Sunday.
“I think the top three will give us a good chance for Sunday and we can overtake,” Sainz said. “Usually it's a race with a lot of pit stops and a lot of overtaking. So, yeah, I think at least here I need to be even further ahead than I was today to be in contention on Sunday.”
