Ferrari drivers left reeling after dismal Austin Sprint qualifying

Ferrari’s hopes for a competitive weekend at the Circuit of the Americas evaporated under the Texan sun on Friday, as Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc both endured a bruising Sprint Qualifying session that left the team demoralized and puzzled by its lack of pace.

After promising signs in practice, Ferrari’s performance unraveled when it mattered most. Hamilton could do no better than eighth, while Leclerc found himself mired in tenth – both far adrift of the front-runners.

Hamilton’s early laps had hinted at potential, the Briton showing enough speed to give Ferrari cautious optimism. But as the track evolved, the pace simply disappeared.

“That was definitely not the pace we're expecting,” Hamilton admitted bluntly toafter the session.

“It was looking good in practice and SQ1 was looking pretty decent also, and then it just started to fall away from us.

“The car is very, very tough to drive. So yeah, it just fell away from us. I mean eight tenths is just... that's a mountain to climb.”

The deficit to pole-sitter Max Verstappen underscored indeed the chasm between Ferrari’s expectations and their reality.

For Hamilton, who has been searching for consistency since his high-profile switch to the Scuderia, it was a deflating return to the familiar frustration of unfulfilled potential.

Leclerc’s Bleak Assessment

If the seven-time world champion sounded resigned, Leclerc appeared equally at a loss. The Monegasque’s clean lap in SQ3 was only good enough for tenth – slower than both Williams drivers and Haas’s Nico Hülkenberg, who stunned many with fourth place.

“[Ferrari lacked in pace] everywhere, honestly, my lap was clean in SQ3. I don't regret much what I've done in my lap,” Leclerc explained.

“Maybe a little bit more mileage this morning on the medium. You can fine-tune the car a little bit better, there might be a tenth in that, a tenth and a half, I don't know, but it's not enough. I mean we are so far behind now.”

The tone grew more somber as he looked ahead to Saturday’s sprint race.

“I'll be very surprised if we find something that will make us such a jump, but I hope I'm wrong,” he said. “But unfortunately for now, it just seems like it's the potential of our car.”

Leclerc was also quick to acknowledge the surprise performances elsewhere on the grid.

“I'm very surprised by the teams that are very strong this weekend, apart from obviously the McLaren and the Red Bull, which is expected.

“But you've got Nico in front that has done probably an amazing lap, but he's been consistently fast this weekend so we just need to understand if they understood something that we didn't but today was a very poor day.”

As Verstappen once again stormed to pole for the Sprint ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris, Ferrari’s weekend has taken on an ominous tone. What began as cautious optimism now feels like damage limitation for the Italian outfit.

US Grand Prix - Sprint Qualifying results

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