Ferrari: where Charles Leclerc lost to Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris and Max Verstappen in Austin quali

Ferrari appeared to have made some adjustments to its car in the three hours between the Sprint Race and qualifying. Both drivers mentioned in post-race interviews that optimizing the aerodynamic setup was crucial to improve their performance in qualifying and secure a better grid position, even though overtaking opportunities are relatively good on this track. However, the setup changes seemed to have had only limited success, primarily benefiting Carlos Sainz, whose car was competitive across all sectors compared to McLaren and Red Bull.

Charles Leclerc, on the other hand, continued to struggle through the early snake section of the track, where a strong and responsive front end is essential to handle the rapid direction changes. In comparison to Sainz, Leclerc lost 0.132 seconds in Sector 1 alone, needing to lift slightly and apply the brakes in Turn 4, while Sainz could take it flat out. This difference resulted in a 17 km/h speed disadvantage for Leclerc. The only part of the lap where Leclerc made a notable gain was at the braking zone for Turn 11, where positioning the car well for better traction is key.

This is crucial as the following section features a long straight of 1.2 kilometers. However, throughout the rest of the lap, Sainz felt more comfortable, rotating the car smoothly and precisely without needing the small corrections that Leclerc had to make in the technical section from Turns 12 to 16. When compared to Lando Norris, Leclerc’s difficulty in reaching the desired apex becomes even more evident. He frequently had to shift the car's weight forward by tapping the brakes, while Norris didn’t need to touch the brake pedal at all.

In other corners, such as Turn 19, Leclerc was forced to brake longer to set up the corner and avoid running wide, losing as much as 11 km/h in speed. This pattern repeated throughout the circuit, where Leclerc struggled to maintain high cornering speeds and had to delay his throttle application. Tonight’s race promises to be an exciting battle between the two title contenders, with Ferrari aiming to capitalize on the promising signs from the Sprint Race to climb the standings and secure valuable points in the constructors' championship.

OUTLINE:

00:00:00 Ferrari's Struggles in Round 19
00:00:09 Qualifying Sessions at Circuit of The Americas
00:00:23 SF-24 Single-Seater Characteristics
00:00:33 Overall Performance Analysis
00:00:37 Norris vs. Verstappen
00:01:08 McLaren's Setup Optimization
00:01:29 Lando Norris' Performance in Sector 3
00:01:50 Key Differences in Turn 19
00:03:36 Charles Leclerc's difficulties
00:05:52 Focus on the USA GP

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[csl]

Race pace is key... and the Ferrari i thinknhas good race pace...