Despite Mercedes’ clear dominance—unexpected in some ways, even after George Russell’s pole in qualifying—Ferrari managed to close the gap in the Constructors’ standings. However, the internal debrief post-race is bound to be heated.
From a purely standings perspective, the Maranello team achieved the best possible result today with third and fourth place finishes. But Charles Leclerc’s anger toward Carlos Sainz is already sparking significant debate.
During the second pit stop, Carlos Sainz was explicitly instructed not to attack his teammate, but the Spaniard immediately disobeyed the team orders.
Charles Leclerc, in his customary post-race team radio, erupted with anger, openly criticizing the Spaniard’s race conduct live for the world to hear.
Tense times at Ferrari
“Honestly, I haven’t spoken to Carlos or Charles yet,” commented Frederic Vasseur after the race, when asked by Sky Sport about yet another clash between his two drivers.
“It was very difficult because at one point during the first stint, we had a margin of 3-4 seconds, and both wanted to come into the pits. Initially, we wanted to extend the stint, so we discussed keeping Carlos out on track, but at a certain point, we missed the pit stop.” – he pointed out.
“I think it was a very tough race. They’re under pressure in these conditions, and it’s very frustrating to lose two seconds on track because of graining.”
On the overall race performance
“We struggled a lot. At the end of the stint, we were losing two seconds per lap, even at the end of the second stint. But overall, the pace on the hards was good. The problem is we lost everything at the start. We minimized the damage, but at some point, we needed to score more points than everyone else and not settle. We scored 12 more points than McLaren, I think, but probably today, this was the best we could do because Mercedes was flying.”
On the Constructors’ Championship outlook
Finally, analyzing the Constructors’ situation, with Ferrari now 24 points behind McLaren and two races remaining, Frederic Vasseur added: “Of course, it’s possible. Let’s focus on the next race, which will be a sprint. On paper, it won’t be the best track for us, but we’ll see what we can do.” – the French manager admitted – “We need to do our best, focus on ourselves. Honestly, I think today’s pace was inconsistent, with some good stints and others less so. We need to do a better job next week.” – the Ferrari team boss concluded at the end of the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
