Charles Leclerc wins the United States GP thanks to an incredible performance. Overturning predictions, Ferrari managed to dominate the Texan Grand Prix, completing a one-two that had been missing in the USA for eighteen years. Now, thanks to Leclerc's victory, Red Bull and McLaren are even closer in the constructors' standings.
US GP: Leclerc and Ferrari on the top step of the podium
Leclerc flies high, as does the Ferrari. Now, however, it is forbidden to suffer from vertigo. The Maranello team is finally capitalizing on the full potential made available by the SF-24. A solid car, which manages the tires as it has not been able to do for years. But these improvements would have been for nothing if the two drivers at the wheel of the Ferrari were not channeling, Saturday in Singapore excluded, a series of fantastic performances. Leclerc, perhaps also heartened by the competitiveness of his rediscovered car, has reached an important level of maturity. The approach to races and opponents is less aggressive and more cautious, putting into practice a more “Prostian” driving style, made of calculations and greater management of one's own resources.
We saw it yesterday too during the first laps of the sprint racing, when, compared to Sainz himself, Leclerc had chosen to start more conservatively. In that case, however, his teammate was right, who instead with his aggressive approach got the better of Leclerc and then Norris. Today, however, the Monegasque seized the opportunity to make amends. The maneuver he put in place at the start was masterful, first getting the jump right from fourth place and then slipping past Verstappen and Norris, surprising Sainz too. Leclerc will probably have been thinking about what happened last year. The number 16 Ferrari started from pole, but immediately lost the position once attacked by Verstappen in a rather vehement manner. Today the Dutchman repeated himself, but it was Leclerc who surprised him. From then on, the latter had to first think about extending his lead and then, in the second stint, managing his hard tires.
Leclerc satisfied with his team: "The engineers worked like crazy"
Perhaps the most beautiful image of this US GP is the final embrace between Leclerc, Sainz and the entire team close to the top three classified cars. Ferrari, among other things, had not won on American soil since 2018, with Kimi Raikkonen's last victory in Formula 1. In fact, COTA is a circuit that has been causing Ferrari difficulties for some time. This time, however, the team was strong and managed to build a winning performance in small steps during the weekend. A progression also underlined by Leclerc himself.It hasn't been an easy weekend so far. I was having trouble finding the feeling with the car.. But I knew that I would feel better in the race. Yesterday, after the sprint race, we thought that the others would improve a lot. But today we were ahead. We are very happy and I couldn't have hoped for anything better".
Leclerc could mathematically still fight for the drivers' title, but Verstappen is really too far away. Instead, for the constructors' championship, the gaps are narrower. That bad moment experienced by Ferrari between the Monaco and Belgian GPs stings even more. The Maranello team had to work hard to recover ground on its opponents. Leclerc, not surprisingly, said he was very satisfied with the work done by the team in the second part of the season.We had a great pace all weekend, but especially in the race. I have to thank the engineers a lot who worked like crazy, bringing some updates that we already had in Singapore and that they are bearing fruitThe team is working great and everything is going perfectly. Now our goal is the title".
Finally, the start was also fundamental for Leclerc, the real key moment of an extraordinary race.It was a really nice turn 1 for me, it was exactly what I wanted to do. We started off very well and I knew we would be very close. Yesterday I found myself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Today was different, I was ahead and the good start benefited our first stint".
