Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were back with a track guide video for Ferrari where they did a simulation lap for the upcoming race weekend. With the US GP around the corner, Leclerc took the challenge of doing a hot lap on the simulator around the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin. However, there was a catch: Leclerc had to do it one-handed.
The Spaniard gave Leclerc a target lap time of 1:36:000, as shown in a video posted by Ferrari on Instagram. Moreover, Sainz taped up the Monegasque’s right hand to handicap his dominant hand —adding to the banter and fun.
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Sainz started talking trash as soon as Leclerc started his lap. He highlighted, how his teammate was doing “plenty of kerb riding” in the twisty first sector. With Leclerc still having fun, Sainz further poked him, to distract his concentration. “Did you just cut a full corner?”
Leclerc subtly disregarded that and kept driving but soon locked up, navigating the narrow hairpin of turn 11. Sainz was loving it. “That’s a massive front lock. And out of the track, he goes”, quipped Sainz.
Still, a time of 1:36.000 was too easy for Leclerc, who clocked in at 1:34.300. Sainz admitted this was impressive and declared it was enough to secure pole position for the actual race weekend. The Madrid-born driver wasn’t joking, as Leclerc had beaten his own pole position time of 1:34.723 from 2023 by over four-tenths of a second.
However, there could be a difference in lap times due to on-track weather conditions in Austin. Moreover, COTA is a circuit that often challenges drivers due to its technical nature.
The enjoyable challenge of COTA
COTA is one of the modern classic tracks in F1. It came first on the calendar in 2012 and its massive elevation changes and a variety of corner geometry quickly got the drivers’ approval. Many enjoy driving around COTA, especially due to the challenging twisty first sector.
The first sector of the track was inspired by the ‘Esses’ of Suzuka and the Maggots and Becketts corner at Silverstone. Drivers naturally love these sorts of corners while also relishing the technical challenge of it.
Even the final sector has a set of corners inspired by the fabled turn 8 of the Istanbul City circuit. The turns 16 to 18 section roughly gives a similar experience of navigating through the multiple apex turn 8 of Turkey. While it is difficult to pull off overtakes here, if any driver can, it is a mesmerizing sight.
This weekend, with the field quite close, one can expect such close racing around COTA. The long straights and challenging corners spread across the barren lands in Austin will be daunting for anyone who isn’t prepared for it.
