Max Verstappen tried his luck at the start in Austin, diving as he usually does on Lando Norris in front of him. But by hindering each other like this, the two drivers opened the door to a victory for Ferrari and Charles Leclerc.
Carlos Sainz also took advantage of the good racing pace of the SF-24 to finish 2nd and it is therefore in 3rd place that we find the triple world champion. A 3rd place obtained through a hard, controversial struggle against Norris. First of all, how can we explain this somewhat average pace?
“It wasn’t the best race for us compared to the Sprint, for example. We just struggled to find balance, to have grip. We couldn’t really brake, turn the car, the way I wanted it. So yeah, pretty quickly, I realized we weren’t going to win the race. But I just tried to do my own race. I think we did the best strategy possible. as a team. And then it was just about surviving until the end And then, of course, Lando came in. It was really, really fun. , overall it was still quite a difficult race for me.”
What about the first relay? He had a radio message about a problem that would have needed to be resolved during the pit stop. What was it?
“No idea. I didn’t ask. I just drove. It was a short stop, I don’t know yet.”
His battle with Norris clearly marked this United States Grand Prix, with two important moments in the race. Turn 1, first of all, at the start.
“There was a gap on the inside, so I went for it. This corner is very wide, so it gives you a lot of opportunities to go very wide or try to go very tight. J I chose that option, and I still came out second, I came out second from turn 1. This time, of course, it was Charles in front I think it worked out pretty well for me because. that Charles was faster anyway, so he just got away from me. From then on I just tried to make my own race.
And at the end of the race? Norris came back with fresher tires…
“I just tried to do my best, to be honest. My balance wasn’t great. I wasn’t really… I wasn’t able to attack the corners. So, yeah, he put a lot of pressure. But here, it’s a pretty cool track to defend yourself. So, yes, it’s good for the race.
And that moment when he went outside?
“I think it’s pretty clear: you can’t overtake outside the white line. I mean, I got screwed here too, I think, in 2017. I lost my podium like that. I so I stayed calm, I tried to do my best after that to get the car to the end because it wasn’t easy with the tires and the situation I was in. But yeah, overall. I still really enjoyed this battle we had.”
Lando therefore overtook off the track, but obviously McLaren responded by saying that “Max was also out and he forced things, as usual”. What does he think of this reaction?
“They’re complaining a lot lately anyway, but it’s very clear in the rules. Outside the white line you can’t overtake. I’ve been punished for that too in the past, I repeat .”
There were a lot of five-second penalties because of that turn 12, with cars going off the outside and not giving back the advantage. Is there a solution for the future? Maybe a gravel trap, like the one introduced in Austria earlier this year? Would that work?
“I mean, it could help, but we also have to deal with the motorcycles that race here. They don’t like gravel, so it would have to be taken out again. And on track days, people go head-to-head. tail don’t like that. You have amateur drivers, professional drivers. It costs a lot of money when you have to do that, and not every track can do it all year round. , but on the other hand, I’m not sure it’s sustainable for the season.”
Finally, how satisfying is it to have increased your championship lead this weekend?
“It’s really positive. I was hoping for a bit more performance in the race, so that’s what we have to analyze, why today we weren’t as good. I think everyone was a bit better or at least the same as in the Sprint, and I felt like we were definitely worse so I have to understand why, because I don’t know at the moment.”
