There is no peace for Charles Leclerc who, after seeing the podium slip from his hands, due to a one-stop strategy that took him from Pole to sixth place, also had to endure a disqualification. The extraordinary Pole won on Friday by Charles Leclerc ad Austin it was a pure illusion. At the end of the Grand Prix Charles was interviewed by sky sports f1. Let us therefore see Leclerc's statements after the GP in Austin, when he was not yet aware of the FIA's decision - which arrived late at night, on the disqualification for him and Lewis Hamilton and the cause of the irregularity after random checks.
Leclerc not convinced by the only pit stop
The disappointment for Charles came not so much from the single-seater but from Ferrari's strategy. Charles also had to give up the position to his teammate, Sainz who started fourth. And this is because the one-stop strategy hasn't paid off. The Monegasque was the only one to continue on this path, by mutual agreement with the team. However, trust did not pay off and Charles found himself having to give up position after position. Finishing in sixth place starting from Pole is certainly not a good result, and in wanting to look for the causes of this setback Charles Leclerc appeals to the only variable that does not concern his SF-23, namely the choice of strategy. Asked to choose between a one-stop or two-stop strategy, in the middle of the race Charles let the team guide him, leaning towards the opposite strategy of Sainz. A choice that did not pay off and which for Charles represents the biggest disappointment of the weekend. Even more so than the fact that he let his teammate slide to avoid losing Sainz's position on Perez.
"The one stop today was the wrong choice. Our numbers were similar, but we chose to stop only once. Angry for letting Sainz pass? At the time I didn't understand, but then looking at the times and the fact that Perez was arriving, I understand that Carlos had to be protected. I'm not mad about that, but I'm disappointed with the strategy". The Vasseur he is of the same opinion as Charles who initially asked for clarification on the swap with Sainz.
The arrival of the disqualification
The Sprint weekend claimed several victims. In this case, of the sample of 4 cars examined by the FIA after the race, 50% or 2 cars, those of Leclerc and Hamilton, were found to be irregular. Although Ferrari decided to raise Leclerc's car after the only free practice session, the Monegasque's SF-23 reported a high pad output. The regulation provides for disqualification. And the team can only take note of it.
“The regulations are clear and although we were slightly beyond the parameters established by the regulations there was no other solution than disqualification as also happened in the case of Hamilton. We raised the car during Free Practice and thought we were OK, but evidently we chose a configuration that was too extreme. We could have raised the car even more, but we would have lost performance, the compromise we opted for in the end did not reward us. The wind was even more intense than forecast and changed direction, this certainly didn't help us in addition to the fact that during the Sprint weekend after Free Practice the Parc Fermé prevents interventions on the car" comments the Ferrari sporting director Diego Ioverno.
Ferrari is now -22 points behind Mercedes in the constructors' standings. 4 races left, and the last Sprint which we will see in two weeks in Brazil. However, Mercedes' recovery does not bode well for the Maranello team who paid above all in their race pace.
