Carlos Sainz expressed optimism following his top-three qualifying performance for the United States Grand Prix, keeping him in contention for a possible race victory. After climbing three spots to secure second in the Sprint race, the Spaniard carried his momentum into qualifying, securing a P3 start.
Despite George Russell’s late crash, which left some uncertainty about the final order, Sainz was satisfied with Ferrari’s step forward: “We’ve done some good progress, and we should be in the fight tomorrow if we get a clean start,” Sainz said, adding that Ferrari had made strides to get the car into a better position for qualifying compared to earlier sessions.
He reflected on the final stages of his lap, mentioning he was up by three-tenths before the yellow flag, but remained pleased with the team's progress. Ferrari showed promising race pace during the Sprint, though tyre degradation remains a concern going into the Grand Prix, especially with unpredictable track conditions.
Sainz emphasized the importance of tyre management in qualifying: “We’ve struggled recently to get the tyres in the right window. It was my main focus during qualifying, and it seems like we got them right, especially that last lap before the yellow flag.”
Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc, starting alongside Sainz in P4, echoed his teammate’s sentiments, noting that it would have been a close battle between the two regardless of the session’s outcome. Both drivers feel Ferrari has a strong race car for Sunday, even though qualifying posed its own set of challenges.
Leclerc added, “We have a really good car for the race. For qualifying, we struggled a bit more, but we’ll see tomorrow.”
With both Ferrari drivers starting near the front, they’ll be looking to capitalize on their strong race pace and aim for a victory in Austin.