Leclerc Races to P2 as Ferrari Upgrades Deliver in Austin

Ferrari's aggressive strategy pays off

Ferrari started well at the Circuit of The Americas with both cars on the soft tyres, Charles Leclerc picking off Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton passing Isack Hadjar. Leclerc lost out to the Dutchman soon after, but once they pitted for mediums the car came even more alive.

That allowed Leclerc to close back up to the leaders, and a late second stop for the hard tyre saw the Monegasque become the fastest man on track. He closed up and got past Verstappen for P2, but did not have time to chase back to race-winner Kimi Antonelli.

As for Hamilton, he also two-stopped and easily picked off Lando Norris towards the end. He looked on course for a fun fight with Verstappen for the final podium place until a late Virtual Safety Car neutralised that battle and saw the seven-time world champion come home just one second off the rostrum.

"It was a fun race and I really enjoyed it, particularly the start and the battle with Max (Verstappen) on lap 1, and later on with Lando (Norris) and Max again. Our pace was quite strong, and our strategy was good, but it was not enough for the win today," Leclerc said.

"We brought good upgrades to the car and have been going in a direction that I quite like. It makes me feel confident with the car so I'm optimistic. It's all about optimising what we have for the upcoming races, with the target of converting our progress to a win."

Hamilton rues the late VSC

Hamilton was left to reflect on what might have been after the late caution froze the order and denied him a late lunge at the podium.

"Today was a strong team effort, with a solid strategy and great execution. I want to thank everyone here and back at the factory for their continued hard work which is helping us get closer," Hamilton said. "The balance in the race still wasn't quite where I wanted it, but the pace was there and we were closing in the final stint. Without the VSC late on, I believe we'd have had a real shot at a double podium. That's racing though, and there's plenty to take from this weekend. The focus now is on starting strongly in Mexico and putting ourselves in the fight from the very first session."

Vasseur targets qualifying gains

Team Principal Fred Vasseur praised the aggression of Ferrari's strategy and the pace shown across the race, but pointed to qualifying as the area to sharpen ahead of the next round.

"It was a solid day for us: the pace was good and we were aggressive with our strategy. If there was something missing, it was in the final laps of Q3 yesterday. But I prefer to look at the positives from this race, starting with the fact that the pace was there until the very last lap today. I also think that, without the VSC towards the end, we could have come away with a double podium," Vasseur said.

"We need to keep working and improving, especially in qualifying, to deliver an even better performance in Mexico next week. I want to thank the whole team, both here and in Maranello, for the solid job they have done which ensured a good weekend in terms of pure performance."