In front of a huge crowd that turned out on Saturday at the Circuit of the Americas, Scuderia Ferrari was able to secure a satisfying result in qualifying for the United States Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were fifth and sixth fastest respectively in Q3 and they will both move up one place on the grid for today’s race following the penalty given to Valtteri Bottas, who was fourth fastest yesterday afternoon.
Ferrari Racing Director Laurent Mekies comments and impressions at the end of the qualifying session for the 2021 United States Grand Prix:
“We knew that, on paper, the characteristics of this track were not the best for our package, especially compared to our closest rivals. On top of that, it was not easy to find the right settings on such a bumpy track, especially as the drivers need to feel confident in the car to give their best, although that goes for everyone. All of us together worked a lot on this aspect yesterday and today, trying out various solutions. In the end, I think we succeeded in giving Charles and Carlos what they needed to get the most out of the SF21 and they responded in style throughout all of qualifying. Tomorrow we can expect the race to be very tough on the drivers and the cars with very high temperatures expected, which will have an effect on tyre management, as the track surface is in any case very abrasive. Choosing the right strategy and executing it properly will be key. As usual we will be giving it our all. There are many Ferrari fans here in Austin and we would like to give them something to cheer about.” – the Ferrari Racing Director concluded, as reported by the Maranello team’s official website.
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