Charles Leclerc has issued a bold statement to Ferrari’s rivals, declaring the team is “targeting the title” following a commanding win at the United States Grand Prix.
Leclerc secured his third victory of the season with an impressive performance at the Circuit of the Americas, delivering a result that Ferrari could have only “dreamed” of. His pace was unmatched throughout the race, making him the driver to beat.
Starting from fourth, Leclerc’s brilliant launch catapulted him into the lead by the second corner. In a masterful display, he overtook Carlos Sainz, Max Verstappen, and Lando Norris, taking advantage of the latter two battling for position.
Once in front, Leclerc quickly pulled away, building a gap of over a second to the chasing pack and eventually crossing the finish line several seconds ahead of his teammate Sainz, securing a Ferrari one-two finish.
“Very, very happy,” Leclerc said after the race. “It hasn’t been an easy weekend up until now. I’ve been struggling a bit with the feeling of the car, but I was confident that the race would feel better, and that’s exactly what happened. Yesterday in the sprint race, we saw our pace was strong. We were a bit cautious today, thinking the others might improve more, but we still had the upper hand. A one-two for the team – we couldn’t have dreamed of anything better.”
Leclerc emphasized that Ferrari is still aiming for the championship: “We are still targeting the title. It’s a long way to go, but this is a great start to the triple-header.”
Leclerc’s Perfect Start
Leclerc’s exceptional start was key to his victory. Launching brilliantly from fourth, he made a decisive move to stick to the inside at the first corner, while Verstappen and Norris went wide as they battled for position. Leclerc seized the opportunity to slip past both, gaining an early advantage that set him up for the win.
Reflecting on the importance of the start, Leclerc acknowledged that he had learned from a mistake in the sprint race: “It was a good turn one!” he said with a smile. “That’s exactly what I wanted to do, and we had a really good launch. I knew it would be tight going into Turn 1. Yesterday, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but today, I benefited, and it really helped our first stint because we had mega pace.”
Leclerc also praised Ferrari’s engineering team for their hard work in recent months: “The pace of the car today and this weekend overall was really, really good, and that’s mostly thanks to the engineers. They’ve been working like crazy to bring the upgrades we’ve seen since Singapore, and it’s paying off.”
With the win in Austin, Leclerc has put Ferrari in a strong position as they head into the final stretch of the season, keeping their championship hopes alive.
