La Ferrari he remains on the Texan circuit with a bittersweet aftertaste in his mouth after yesterday's Grand Prix. There race ends with the victory of Max Verstappen, with Charles Leclerc author of a super comeback to finish third, starting from twelfth position. Very unfortunate Carlos Sainz, ritirato after a contact in the first corner with George Russell.
Race to forget
Let's start with a very brief analysis from Spanish, whose race ended with a retirement to the pits after the contact with Russell in turn 1. Sainz got off to a bad start with some spinning at the start, thus involuntarily leaving the first position to Max Verstappen. Arriving at Turn 1, Russell darted a bit on the inside, locking his tires and therefore going to hit the innocent Sainz who spun off. From Russell's onboard camera, damage can be seen on Sainz's left belly, probably where the radiator is located given the supposed hydraulic problems that forced the Spaniard to training camp.
Ferrari, Leclerc gave everything
For Charles, on the other hand, his race saw him make a good start with management of the medium compound, second in the standings – also thanks to the stops by Perez, Hamilton and Russell – until his first stop, which took place on lap 18 to switch to the hard compound also thanks to the entry of the Safety Car for the cover-up of Valtteri Bottas exiting turn 19. Furthermore, with the stop under Safety, Leclerc finds himself in fourth position, behind Verstappen, Hamilton and Perez.
The Monegasque's proposal to the team is interesting via radio during lap 17, a message to have the “plan E“, presumably very different from the standard one proposed by Ferrari. During the 29th lap he tries an attack on Perez, but both go long enough and the attempt is postponed to the next lap, where with a crazy braking he finds himself inside turn 12 and therefore manages to get rid of the Mexican.
The second part of the race
The waltz of stops begins around the 34th lap, and at the end of the 35th Verstappen and Leclerc stop, with a very slow stop for the Dutchman and with Leclerc who overtakes him right in the pit stop waltz. Leclerc is unable to keep up with Verstappen's pace, who tries to overtake several times, even with a delayed entry into turn 1 on lap 39, where Leclerc crosses the trajectory and passes him. In the end, the Dutchman prevails and takes him away with the DRS during the 39th lap, but Leclerc doesn't give up and remains attached to the Red Bull. After the waltz of the stops, Hamilton is in the lead, with Verstappen in second position and Leclerc in third place. In the final, the fight between the two leaders sees Verstappen win, with Leclerc resisting Perez's comeback and maintaining an unexpected podium.
Head to Mexico
The appointment for Redheads of Maranello is in a week's time, for the Mexico City Grand Prix, where a fit Perez is expected for his home race and, at the same time, a further show of strength from the Ferraris, who proved they weren't as far off as they seemed in terms of race pace.
ARTICLE BY FABIO SEGETTA
