Ferrari team principal Frédéric Vasseur reflects on the Austin race weekend with satisfaction. Charles Leclerc finished third on the podium, with Lewis Hamilton trailing behind in fourth place. A daring strategy with the soft tyre for Leclerc paid off, although he had to relinquish his position to Lando Norris in the final stages.
Leclerc started the race from the third grid spot on the soft tyre, while the drivers around him opted for the mediums. The Monegasque took full advantage of his extra grip and overtook Norris right after turn 1, putting him in second position. In the final stages, Norris struck back, forcing Leclerc to settle for third place. Teammate Hamilton drove a solid race and moved up from P5 to P4.
Vasseur spoke with F1TV afterwards and was particularly pleased with how the team had bounced back after a challenging Friday: “This result is due to the hard work of the team and the drivers. Friday was very tough for us – we were at the back in SQ3 – but from Friday evening everything started to fall into place. The sprint race went well, the qualification went fine and the race itself was good. We were aggressive in our strategy and both drivers drove strongly. I’m quite satisfied with the way we’ve bounced back. This is good for everyone’s confidence – the drivers, the engineers and the whole team in Maranello. We need to keep pushing until the end of the season.”
Partially Successful Strategy
Regarding the notable decision to start Leclerc on the soft tyre, Vasseur could only laugh: “We wanted to be aggressive, and it almost worked. The goal was to take both Max Verstappen and Norris in turn 1. We succeeded halfway,” joked the team boss. The next opportunity for Ferrari to once again compete for the podium comes next weekend during the Grand Prix of Mexico. With this strong result, Ferrari is back in the fight for second place in the constructors’ championship, where the team is competing with Mercedes and a high-performing Red Bull.
