The United States Grand Prix proved to be a highly successful weekend for Ferrari on the timing sheets, featuring strong race pace and controlled tyre degradation that propelled Charles Leclerc to a second-place finish. However, team principal Fred Vasseur believes the Scuderia missed out on a potential race victory and a double podium due to a pair of costly moments.
Saturday Q3 Mistake Costs Track Position
Speaking to Sky Sports F1 as reported by Motorsport.com, Vasseur agreed that Leclerc possessed the underlying pace to win the race under different circumstances. The Ferrari boss pointed directly to the team’s Saturday performance in qualifying as the root cause of their Sunday challenges.
“Probably yes, I think that today it went well, everything went well, the pace was OK, we were aggressive with the strategy, because we had to overtake,” Vasseur explained to Motorsport.com, noting that track position is critical in modern Formula 1.
Failing to capitalize on the final two laps in Q3 forced Ferrari to burn through their tyres while fighting through traffic early in the race.
Late Virtual Safety Car Neutralizes Hamilton Charge
Despite the strategic hurdles, Ferrari mounted a late charge as Lewis Hamilton rapidly reeled in Max Verstappen in the closing stages of the race to contest the final podium position.
The momentum was halted when Valtteri Bottas suffered a mechanical failure and parked his Cadillac on the side of the circuit. The resulting virtual safety car completely neutralized the race and preserved Verstappen’s third-place finish.
While the stranded car was powered by a Ferrari engine, the team confirmed the stoppage stemmed from a hydraulic issue rather than a power unit failure. Even so, the timing of the caution period proved devastating for Hamilton’s podium aspirations.
“Without the VSC, probably it would have been a double podium,” Vasseur told Motorsport.com. “He was closing, and then I don’t know if it was P3 or P4; I don’t have the crystal ball, but at the end of the day the pace was there.”
Vasseur leaves Texas feeling optimistic about the team’s heavily scrutinized aero upgrade package introduced at the Circuit of the Americas and emphasized the need to fine-tune operations ahead of the upcoming Mexican Grand Prix.
