Austin, a real test for Ferrari
The improvements made at Monza brought Ferrari one win and one second place. But the Circuit of the Americas will reveal the true level of the single-seater.
If the eyes of the paddock are turning to the duel between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris for the Drivers’ title, Ferrari hopes to be involved in the battle. The home victory at Monza, followed by the second place in Baku, have given huge hopes to the men from Maranello. The outcome could have been even better if an error during the Singapore qualifying had not proved to be fatal for the race.
However, these three circuits are very particular, between the temple of speed in Italy and the two urban races. This is why Austin will play the role of revealing the true level of these improvements. Asked about the subject during the press conference on Thursday, Carlos Sainz thus declared: “The more races we have had since Monza, the more confident we are that the improvements made to the car are working everywhere. But for me, I have always said that as long as we have not gone to Austin and tried them on a normal track, we will not be able to know how much we have improved on tracks like Zandvoort and Spa where we struggled. So, this is our most important test to see if all the improvements we have made in the past are going in the right direction on more normal tracks as we will see here in Austin.”
Especially since the other teams are arriving with new parts, which is not the case for Ferrari. His teammate, Charles Leclerc, still sees an advantage during a Sprint format weekend, which only offers one free practice session: “It’s very risky to arrive with a new car on a weekend with only one free practice session. You go into qualifying without being able to try different setup configurations. This puts you in a delicate position if something unexpected happens during free practice. We have worked a lot to get here and we know our car well. This gives us confidence that it will go well.”
That’s why the Monegasque who has just celebrated his 27th birthday sees himself more than just a referee in the match for the two titles but still intends to defend his own chances: “I don’t consider him as a referee. Our goal is to score as many points as possible. Instead of watching the battle in front, I think that if we execute everything perfectly, there is a small chance that we can join this battle! Instead of their battle, I see it as our battle.”
Charles Leclerc is third with 86 points behind Max Verstappen and Ferrari occupies the same position, trailing McLaren by 75 points. The window to join the fight is narrowing, but with six races in seven weeks coming up, the moment of truth is fast approaching!
From our special correspondent in Austin.
