AUSTIN — This week began with Charles Leclerc telling the media gathered in Ferrari's hospitality space that he was not a “favorite” for the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix.
With Leclerc on the top step and teammate Carlos Sainz Jr. alongside him, Ferrari locked out the front row with a dominant performance in Austin, the latest development in a great F1 season.
Lando Norris took the lead alongside Max Verstappen, but on the opening lap the two cars tangled in Turn 1, opening the door for Leclerc to jump into the lead. Verstappen slid into second place and Sainz moved up from a fourth start to third as Norris was shuffled back to fourth.
Sainz was able to move up to second thanks to a nice undercut from Verstappen, paving the way for Ferrari's incredible one-two.
“I'm very happy. I mean, it hasn't been an easy weekend so far. “I was struggling a bit with the feel of the car, but I was confident that it would feel better in the race, and that's exactly what happened. '' Leclerc told Jenson Button trackside after the race. “We witnessed that in the sprint race yesterday. We were a little bit scared, but we thought others would be better today, but we still had the upper hand. “Today was really I'm happy. 1-2 for the team. I couldn't have asked for anything better.”
Speaking to Button, Sainz said tire management, which used to be a problem for Ferrari, was a strength for the team this season.
Yeah, [tire management is] There is no doubt that this year's car is strong. How long can a stint last, and how long can it last? [degredation] What we have is something that I really enjoy and I've enjoyed racing a lot more this year than last year,” Sainz said. “Last year we spent all the races defending and lost places. This year we're in attack mode and I think we can just push and overtake without thinking too much about the tires. It's fun and I'm having a lot of fun with it. And I hope it stays like this until the end of the year. ”
Ferrari's strong performance turned the two-team battle for the constructors' championship between McLaren and Red Bull into a three-way battle. McLaren currently leads the way with 544 points for the year, followed by Red Bull with 504 points and Ferrari just behind with 496 points for the year.
With five race weekends remaining, including two more F1 sprint races, the battle is far from over.
And it may not happen until Abu Dhabi.
