Monegasque Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has won the US Grand Prix in Austin. The 27-year-old enjoyed a stunning start, surging through the front lines to take – and hold – the lead from P4.
It was an excellent weekend for the 27-year-old Monegasque, who picked up crucial points in the Sprint on Saturday 19th October, coming in fourth behind McLaren’s Lando Norris, Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Together, Leclerc and Sainz earned 12 points in the event, the most of any team.
It was this foursome again who would qualify highest going into the United States Grand Prix on Sunday 20th October. Norris had taken pole, with Verstappen in second, Sainz in third and Leclerc completing the second row.
The Monegasque driver, who went into the race with two stellar GP victories already under his belt during the 2024 season, having won at home in Monaco and then in Monza, demonstrated his rapid reactions by taking advantage of Norris’ attempts to defend from Verstappen, which sent the two drivers wide going into Turn 1. This gave Leclerc the perfect opportunity to snatch the lead and he surged through.
A safety car went out in Lap 3 after Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton spun off the track and into the gravel, but racing resumed in the order that had played out since the start, with Leclerc up in front.
The Monegasque pitted in Lap 26 and returned to the track in third, behind the two McLaren drivers, who headed into the pits themselves not long after. From there, the race was open to Leclerc and his teammate, who sailed through the final stages in P1 and P2 – the first time Ferrari has secured a 1-2 finish since 2006.
An overjoyed Leclerc summed up the weekend by saying, “It feels good to bring home a victory at the start of this triple-header. The whole team did an amazing job to make this happen and a 1-2 brings us a good amount of points in the fight for the Constructors’ title. It’s an optimistic target, but we will never stop dreaming until it is done.”
He added, “I had a good start, leveraging the fact that Max (Verstappen) pushed hard into Turn 1, and Lando (Norris) defended from him. I lined up my exit and overtook both of them. After that, I knew it would be a matter of taking good care of my tyres and just bringing it home. Our pace was really strong from the first lap onwards and I felt that I could pull away from Max quite comfortably. We’ve made a really good step in terms of our race trim, and hopefully, we will keep it up in the next few races. We will do everything to maximise our results and at the end of the year, we will do the maths and see where we stand.”
The Monegasque was also voted Driver of the Day.
“It was the perfect Sunday,” said Ferrari Team Principal Fréd Vasseur. “We have done a very good job this weekend, scoring a lot of points, but we have to stay focussed and not think we are champions just because of today’s result… Charles had a perfect start and managed the tyres well, while with Carlos, we had to pit him earlier than planned in order to undercut Max (Verstappen). Once he was in free air, he was able to set his pace and he was able to secure second place.”
He continued, “Next week in Mexico will be a completely different story with the altitude… Just because you are quick in Austin, it doesn’t mean you will be quick in Mexico. As for the championship, we are taking it one race at a time, but there are still plenty of points available.”
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Photo credit: Scuderia Ferrari Media Centre