Charles Leclerc surprised after Austin qualifying: “The car remains a mystery, but I still dream of my first win”. Charles Leclerc secures a surprising third place in Austin qualifying.

Ferrari stunned fans in Austin after a very difficult Friday, where Charles Leclerc ended more than eight tenths off the pole position, only to claim third in Saturday’s qualifying by halving the gap thanks to targeted setup changes and improved tire preparation. The Monegasque driver remains surprised by the enigmatic SF-25 but promised to be aggressive at the start of tomorrow’s race.

There was a mix of a smile and almost disbelief on Charles Leclerc’s face after qualifying at the United States Grand Prix, as the third-place result was a genuine surprise even for the Ferrari driver himself. After Friday’s sessions, Leclerc had expressed doubts about the team being able to make a significant improvement, even with parc fermé reopened.

Fortunately for him, his hope proved correct: in just twenty-four hours, Ferrari more than halved the deficit, going from over eight tenths on Friday to just two and a half tenths on Saturday. As has happened on previous occasions, reopening parc fermé proved valuable, allowing the team to make precise adjustments to the car.

This provided a crucial opportunity to recover a weekend that had started poorly, while capitalizing on lessons learned during the Sprint Race. As Charles Leclerc explained, Ferrari did not radically change the setup from Friday but instead implemented targeted modifications on specific parts of the car, avoiding major overhauls.

It is partly for this reason that Charles Leclerc was surprised by the significant improvement in lap times and overall position compared to Friday. Even during the Sprint Race, the drivers had felt better performance, but Ferrari continues to struggle particularly in qualifying, a limitation that often forces the team to start further back in the grid.

“I have to say it was a big surprise, especially considering how difficult the weekend has been for us from the start,” Charles Leclerc commented after qualifying, highlighting just how challenging Friday had been. On a circuit that demands compromises, the SF-25 showed all of its weaknesses, not only in ride height, which negatively impacted overall performance.

“In qualifying, we tried to put everything together, and we succeeded, but I believe there are still aspects of the car we need to understand better, because performance can oscillate too much over the same weekend without radically changing the car. We’ll keep working on it, but this morning’s Sprint Race was interesting,” added the Ferrari driver.

This theme dominated Ferrari’s Saturday. According to team principal Frédéric Vasseur, the performance swing between Friday and Saturday was largely due to improvements in tire preparation: Ferrari deliberately went on track earlier than rivals, sacrificing the final minutes of track evolution to maximize the out-lap performance.

This conscious choice aimed to get the most out of the tires. Analysis of the out-lap sector times clearly shows Ferrari adopted a more aggressive approach to warming the tires, attacking the final sector faster than direct rivals, helping especially the front tires reach the optimal temperature window for the first sector.

Notably, Ferrari managed to limit the gap to Red Bull and McLaren in this sector. Part of the progress was also due to suspension adjustments that allowed the team to find a more stable balance in a crucial section, where it is essential to keep the car stable over the bumps characterizing that part of the track.

For Leclerc, the SF-25 remains a mystery, although he believes there was a chance to reach the front row. He feels his opportunity was affected by Max Verstappen’s dirty slipstream in the second sector while preparing his flying lap, a consequence of Ferrari’s decision to go out earlier than others for a calm final attack.

“The only thing I’m not happy with is Max’s traffic in the second sector. I already spoke with Max and understood it wasn’t intentional, but with these cars, it costs a lot, and that’s where I lost a fair bit. For second place, I don’t think pole was achievable, but we would have been much closer,” Leclerc explained.

“Anyway, it’s a good step forward. I tried several things today, not revolutionizing the car but making small improvements. Especially a new adjustment I experimented with today helped my driving style and immediately brought performance. This is something we’ll continue to refine moving forward, hoping we can close the gap further.”

Targeted modifications unlocked performance and reduced the gap: from eight tenths on Friday, Ferrari found itself just six thousandths behind McLaren on a single lap, turning an apparently untouchable rival into a realistic target. The hope is these adjustments will also prove valuable in the race, where the SF-25 tends to perform at its best.

“We know we have a good car in the race and also that we made progress today after the Sprint Race. Especially, as I said, some adjustments for my driving style helped me. In recent races, I struggled to find a way to drive this car with these new parts. Today I think I found something small but useful,” Leclerc stated.

At Ferrari, there is a sense of responsibility with measured tones. Frederic Vasseur preferred not to speculate on podium chances, while Charles Leclerc continues to dream big: “We need to be aggressive. I want to fight for a win before the end of the year. As I’ve always said, I’ll keep believing until the last moment. It hasn’t been an easy period for the team, but we’re third, and anything can happen from here.”

Lewis Hamilton also highlighted the importance of progress in procedures, a critical point he often criticized during the season, awaiting a step forward. “The car today felt different and better than yesterday. Most importantly, the team worked better on procedures: executions were much more precise, and the times reflect that.”

“In terms of setup, the car still wasn’t perfect. I had a lot of understeer in Q3, even in the first attempt, I kept adjusting the wing but still had understeer. Then in the final attempt it was slightly better, but I needed it at the start of the session to continue building. I’m not frustrated; I’m grateful to be in the top five, but I wanted to get ahead of Mercedes to bring points to the team. The guys at the factory deserve credit for this goal,” added the Ferrari driver.