Carlos Sainz says a two-stop strategy in the US Grand Prix became the de facto choice for Ferrari after a challenging first stint had degraded his tyres.
Both Sainz and Scuderia teammate Charles Leclerc kicked off their afternoon on the medium tyre. However, the Monegasque ran a longer first stint before switching to the hard rubber, hoping to put together a successful one-stop race.
Sainz enjoyed a solid start from fourth on the grid, the Spaniard clocking in third at the end of the first lap.
But he was overhauled in short order by Lewis Hamilton and future race winner Max Verstappen., after which he settled into fifth position from where he pondered his next move.
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Having degraded his tyres by attempting to remain in the wake of those in front of him, a pit stop on lap 17 of 56 and a switch to a two-stop race became a no brainer for Sainz.
“I think we did a good job [with the strategy],” he reflected. “Very early on, I was trying to keep up with Lewis and Max, keep within DRS and I destroyed my front tyres in the first sector trying to keep up.
“It was clear to stop as soon as I opened up the front tyres, I was asking for two and from there onwards two stops felt like I could push on the tyres and I was quite solid.
“Because of how the first stint went, there was no discussion. The second stint I could manage the fronts a lot better and I was quicker.”
©Ferrari
With Leclerc’s one-stop plan in tatters, the Monegasque eventually drifted back into the clutches of Sainz in fourth place, with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez in pursuit of the latter.
Leclerc yielded to his teammate following a request from the Ferrari pit wall, with Perez gaining the upper hand four laps later.
“I think I was a lot quicker at that stage, so we were going to finish ahead anyway,” Sainz recounted. “With Checo behind it was always going to be tough.”
Fourth on the road, Sainz’s final result was upgraded to a podium behind Verstappen and McLaren’s Lando Norris following Hamilton’s post-race exclusion.
“If you told me yesterday after seeing how much we struggled against the McLarens and Mercedes that we would be fighting them, I would have been quite happy,” Sainz admitted.
“Especially with Lando at some point in the first stint was very far ahead we must have had some good, solid pace.
“I think today we just did our race, and we were quite quick so I’m happy with that.”
Sainz noted that his race pace has been far superior than his qualifying form in recent events. He therefore will be focusing on the latter in the final leg of the season.
“Something to look into in qualifying, the last couple of races my quali has been nothing special but in the race I’m quick. I was quick in Suzuka, quick here,” he said.
“Now I need to focus on getting my quali pace back and keep doing a good job in the race because the pace is definitely solid. I was pushing hard out there along with good tyre management.”
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