Team Talk - Sunday at The Circuit of the Americas

Ferrari

Frederic Vasseur (FRA) Ferrari Team Principal celebrates a 1-2 finish with the team.
20.10.2024. Formula 1 World Championship, Rd 19, United States Grand Prix, Austin, Texas, USA, Race Day.
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Charles Leclerc
"It feels good to bring home a victory at the start of this triple header. The whole team did an amazing job to make this happen and a 1-2 brings us a good amount of points in the fight for the Constructors’ title. It’s an optimistic target, but we will never stop dreaming until it is done.It feels good to bring home a victory at the start of this triple header. The whole team did an amazing job to make this happen and a 1-2 brings us a good amount of points in the fight for the Constructors’ title. It’s an optimistic target, but we will never stop dreaming until it is done.I had a good start, leveraging the fact that Max (Verstappen) pushed hard into turn 1, and Lando (Norris) defended from him. I lined up my exit and overtook both of them. After that, I knew it would be a matter of taking good care of my tyres and just bringing it home. Our pace was really strong from the first lap onwards and I felt that I could pull away from Max quite comfortably. We’ve made a really good step in terms of our race trim, and hopefully, we will keep it up in the next few races. We will do everything to maximise our results and at the end of the year, we will do the maths and see where we stand."

Carlos Sainz
"For the team this was basically the perfect weekend, so mega congrats to everyone both here and at home. My race was compromised at the start as I got blocked by Lando (Norris) and Max (Verstappen) fighting in front of me, which meant I did the first stint in Max’s dirty air. We had an issue and for some laps I was concerned but we managed to address it and used our pace to undercut Max and finish in P2.It’s great to be able to go on the attack with this car and we want to fight until the last race for the Constructors’ Championship. We have to continue working like this for the remaining races, starting in Mexico City next week."

Frederic Vasseur, team principal
"It was the perfect Sunday. We have done a very good job this weekend, scoring a lot of points but we have to stay focussed and not think we are champions just because of today’s result. Our pace was always under control as was the strategy with both drivers and when you have the slight advantage we had today, it is much easier to do a good job. The car has improved a lot in terms of its driveability compared to where we were a few races ago and that has contributed to the result.Charles had a perfect start and managed the tyres well, while with Carlos we had to pit him earlier than planned in order to undercut Max (Verstappen). Once he was in free air he was able to set his pace and he was able to secure second place.Next week in Mexico will be a completely different story with the altitude making it a one-off race, adding to the challenge, where you have to focus a lot on cooling. Just because you are quick in Austin, it doesn’t mean you will be quick in Mexico. This one-two is great motivation for next week. As for the championship, we are taking it one race at a time, but there are still plenty of points available, including those from the Sprints so everything is still possible. Now we are completely focussed on Mexico where we hope to continue this positive trend."