After the last mini break of the championship, Ferrari is ready to play all its cards in an attempt to bring the constructors’ title back to Maranello in the final three rounds of the season. The first of these three title sprints will take place this weekend in Las Vegas, a circuit that last year suited the characteristics of the SF-23.
Twelve months ago, in fact, the prancing horse dominated qualifying, putting almost half a second between itself and Max Verstappen’s RB19. Even in the race, despite yet another triumph for the Dutchman, Charles Leclerc managed to fight for the top step of the podium until the very last kilometers.
This year as well, on paper, many insiders point to Ferrari as the team to beat on the famous streets of Sin City. However, getting the better of McLaren and a resurgent Max Verstappen will not be an easy feat.
Charles Leclerc is fully aware of this and, introducing the third weekend in the United States, analyzed the possible challenges: “I am convinced that this weekend we can be competitive, although there are many aspects that can catch us by surprise.”
Watch out for the temperatures
“On paper, the circuit may seem simple, but it’s not. Since the race takes place at night in a desert environment, there is a huge temperature variation, so tire management will be crucial.” – he pointed out – “We have a car that manages tires well, but the downside is that it is generally difficult to get them up to temperature in qualifying. We’ve worked on this aspect and believe we’ve made progress. Thanks to recent results, there’s a lot of energy, even though we’re nearing the end of the season. We can do well here, and we’ll give it our all.”
“There are three races left, including a sprint weekend, so there are many points up for grabs, and we have no intention of giving up the fight.”
Constructors’ objective
Finally, speaking about the battle with McLaren for the constructors’ championship, the Monegasque added: “We are 36 points behind, so it’s not that far. We know it’s definitely a possibility, but we are not focusing on that.”
“We prefer to concentrate step by step and race by race, and starting from this weekend, we have a positive feeling about this track. I think we’ll be strong. But this doesn’t mean we will dominate the entire weekend; that won’t happen. I believe the situation will be very close with Red Bull and McLaren, and we just need to stay ahead of them and do better than they do. But obviously, our goal is the constructors’ title.” – the Ferrari man concluded ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend.
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