Ferrari believes that Charles Leclerc could catch Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the closing laps of the United States Grand Prix, but ultimately, the Italian was too strong.
The Ferrari driver passed Max Verstappen on the opening lap, using extra battery deployment to draw alongside the Red Bull and complete the move through the Esses.
Leclerc battled throughout the race, completing overtakes on both Lando Norris and Max Verstappen on his way to retention of P2 at the finish.
Ferrari had looked good for a chance of victory at the Circuit of the Americas, having completed a free practice clean sweep, but were undone in qualifying, with both Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton outqualified by both Red Bulls and Antonelli.
After the race, Leclerc told media, including Motorsport Week, that he enjoyed his early duel with Verstappen, which allowed Antonelli to open up an early lead.
“That was fun. I mean, I had quite a good start, and then I didn’t want to brake too late for Turn 1, just to keep an opportunity of trying to cross back at the exit of Turn 1,” he said.
“But Lewis got very, very close, and then I used a little bit more of my battery to get alongside Max in Turns 3, 4, and 5. I didn’t really know how it would go, but it was quite close, and it was fun.”
Charles Leclerc would have finished P2 without ‘lost time’
Leclerc said Ferrari’s numbers suggested Antonelli would struggle towards the end of the race, but the Mercedes’ latter pace continued to hold up well.
“I even thought the victory was possible at one point when I saw Kimi going for the one-stop. Based on our numbers, he would start to struggle a bit more towards the end of the race,” he said.
“He never really struggled towards the end of the race, but it was a fun race. It is a shame just that we came short of winning.”
Leclerc backed Ferrari’s two-stop, saying the team and Red Bull had reached the same conclusion. He admitted, though, that he had been too optimistic about catching Antonelli.
“I think Red Bull and I had kind of the same vision. If you look at the tyre allocation as well, for us the two-stops were probably the way to go,” he said.
“The hard was just a really good tyre, and I could push on it quite a lot. I kept asking my engineer what the pace of Kimi was, but I was probably a bit too optimistic.
“I still wanted to give it a shot, but I probably lost a bit too much time with Max and Lando, and even with free air, I don’t think I would have got to Kimi.”
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