Charles Leclerc in Austin: A GP That Could Have Ended Early
The United States Grand Prix ended with the disqualification of Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc and the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, both heavily penalized by the Race Director for irregularities in their cars’ undertrays. However, at least for Charles Leclerc, the disappointing race in Austin could have ended much earlier than expected, possibly at the start. Not due to damage or any technical issue but because of the high risk of contact with his Maranello teammate Carlos Sainz.
The Same Trajectory as Another Circuit
The move that could potentially have ended the race for both drivers would have seen Carlos Sainz as the culprit. He openly admitted to executing an overtake on Lewis Hamilton at Turn 1 for the third position, inspired by a trajectory taken on a specific circuit: “It was tricky because if I’d locked up or whatever,” he told Autosport, “I would have taken Charles and Norris with me because there’s a very tight angle at Austin. I did a bit of the Loews corner in Monaco and made it work! The first lap here is always tight, very tight.” – the Spanish driver pointed out.
Highs and Lows in the USA, and Beyond
Apart from the thrilling start, Carlos Sainz, who eventually finished in third place following the aforementioned disqualifications, expressed satisfaction for nearly catching up with Lando Norris towards the end of the race: “After seeing how much we struggled against the McLarens and Mercedes, if you had told me we would fight with them in the race, I would have been quite happy,” he admitted. “Lando at one point in the first stint was quite far ahead, and then we did a good job to recover, with good pace. We didn’t invent anything; we just ran our race, and we were very fast, so I’m quite satisfied. I think in the race, I was relatively strong. I need to work on qualifying because the last two races haven’t been anything special.” – Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz concluded.
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