Leclerc aiming for Grand Prix victory in Texas: 'We believe we can win'
F1 News
Charles Leclerc believes that he can win the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas. The Ferrari driver feels confident in his SF-24 and is certain that the Italians have more to give on Sunday. Leclerc will start the race from fourth place, behind his teammate Carlos Sainz and championship contenders Max Verstappen and Lando Norris. The Monegasque has his eyes set on a win and talked about the difficult task in front of him in the paddock after qualifying.
Leclerc set a 1.32.740 in qualifying, which was good enough for fourth place on the grid. Coincidentally, he also finished fourth in Saturday's sprint race but knows he has more to give on race day.
Shooting for the stars in the Lone Star State - Leclerc's keys to victory
When asked by the media if he feels like he can win, Leclerc said: "Of course, the belief is always to try and go and win. I think that if we see a similar pace to this morning, we have a chance to win. However, I expect the others to have taken a step forward," he began.
Leclerc - 'Tomorrow is the real test'
Ferrari has made progress from Baku and Singapore, according to Leclerc. The new upgrades have been optimised, meaning that the SF-24 has slightly improved. "I think we did (improve) if I assess what we see and what we feel from the beginning of the weekend. But tomorrow is the real test, obviously with the whole race. But if we see a similar pace to this morning, tomorrow in the race, I think we did a step forward for sure because it's normally quite a good track to look at all characteristics of a car," Leclerc explained.
In the sprint race, Leclerc was saving tyres early on, meaning that he lost out to his teammate Sainz, who finished in second. Has he learnt his lesson heading into the race? "Yeah, for sure. It depends also on our strategy and how many laps we need to do in the first stint. But I've learned from today (He can push on the tyres), which most likely was not the ideal scenario for me. But tomorrow, we'll try to make it ideal."
Is a three-horse race expected?
Ferrari's simulated race pace suggests that it will be a close race between the top three teams tomorrow. The Scuderia may have made a step forward after their debrief overnight, but so also will Red Bull and McLaren. "If we see the same race pace as today, I think it is. But as I said, I think McLaren and Red Bull most likely will take a step forward in terms of car setup for tomorrow, and we need to see how much of a step forward that is on lap times. But if we see the same race pace as this morning, then for sure, the race will be a step forward." Leclerc concluded.
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