The 2023 United States Grand Prix has not been a happy hunting ground for Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque not only got himself disqualified for using an illegal part but also saw his team let him down yet again. However, it was different for Carlos Sainz as the Spanish driver did not let Ferrari do that to him, as per MotorsportWeek.
Leclerc saw his P6 finish go in vain after the FIA found an illegal plank measurement in his SF-23. The FIA disqualified the Ferrari driver along with Lewis Hamilton. However, there was more pain for the young driver from Monaco as the Prancing Horse decided to stay with one pit stop, which has been everything but beneficial for him.
That one hurt, but we couldn’t be more proud of you on your 100th GP weekend.
Onto the next one, @Charles_Leclerc ❤️ pic.twitter.com/K34IrBw9sj
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) October 23, 2023
Compared to him, Sainz had a much better race as the man from Madrid had been vocal about his own choices. In the end, the Spaniard finished the race in P4 but was lifted to P3 due to Hamilton’s disqualification.
Sainz worked on his own strategy, unlike Leclerc
Carlos Sainz, the Prancing Horse star emphasized how he took control of his own race strategy and forced the team to have two stops to keep up with the drivers ahead of him.
Speaking about this as per MotorsportWeek, he said, “I think we did a good job [with the strategy]. Very early on, I was trying to keep up with Lewis and Max, keep within DRS and I destroyed my front tires in the first sector trying to keep up.”
One down in the triple header, and we’re more determined than ever for the next two 👊
It’s #MexicoGP race week 😍 pic.twitter.com/sW2ztvXGNg
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) October 23, 2023
Following this, he further added, “It was clear to stop as soon as I opened up the front tires, I was asking for two, and from there onwards two stops felt like I could push on the tires and I was quite solid.” Nevertheless, Scuderia Ferrari accepted their mistake in strategy.
Ferrari accepted their blunder which jeopardized Leclerc’s race
Keeping aside the illegal plank under Leclerc’s car, Ferrari has not been very bright with their strategy at Austin. Notably, race strategy is not something the Scuderia is very well known for and the 2023 Austin race wasn’t very different from this perspective.
Team principal Frederic Vasseur accepted as per Racingnews365, that his team had not been at their absolute best, strategically, last Sunday. They made their mistake in their pre-race calculation and it ultimately ruined Leclerc’s pole position.
This was indeed devastating for the Italian team as they are in the hunt for P2 in the Constructors’ championship against Mercedes. Nevertheless, Sainz’s presence of mind helped him and the team as the Madrid-born driver claimed his third podium of the season.
