Among the riders who will occupy the top nine positions of the starting grid of the United States Grand Prix, only Carlos Sainz will start on soft tires. Before the start of the qualifying session in the Ferrari garage they had more plans in view of the three sessions, and the main one envisaged the passage to Q2 using only one set of soft, as confirmed immediately by Sainz.
Charles Leclerc had to use two sets of ‘red’ tires due to a not particularly fast first ‘run’.
At the start of Q2 the Monegasque found himself in a disadvantaged position compared to his teammate and, in fact, Leclerc had to immediately use the only set of medium tires available, while Sainz was able to plan a first ‘run’ with soft tires for then move on to the yellow set, also having only one medium train available.
“We were confident that the track would improve and that I could beat the time I had achieved with the Softs,” Sainz confirmed.
With the medium set, Leclerc took advantage of a good moment on the track, immediately obtaining the time of 1’33 “928, a time two tenths better than the one that had allowed him to finish Q1 in the lead, while Sainz with the soft stopped the clocks on a time of 1’34 ”126.
The results with the ‘yellow’ have taken many teams by surprise, good news for Sainz, who prepared for the second ‘run’ by mounting the medium set. Then the cold shower: Carlos did not go beyond the time of 1’34 ”388, thus confirming the previous time (obtained with the soft) as that of the passage to Q3.
But what happened?
“In the second part of Q2 the wind picked up a lot – explained Sainz – the track was slower and we all struggled to go faster”.
“Having set my best lap in this phase with the medium compound was a nice advantage in view of the race”, reiterated Leclerc, while Sainz did not take it well: “There is something to analyze, because I was there ‘the only one to go out on the track with the soft (at the beginning of Q2) then the conditions worsened and I was not able to pass the round with the medium, which was our goal ”.
In this case, Ferrari does not have much to blame. The pit wall put Sainz in a position to use the only set of averages available in the second ‘run’, following the normal procedures, and no one could foresee that the wind would become such a significant variable.
The price that Sainz will pay today in the race is that of having to anticipate his first stop, with the risk of finding himself in a greater traffic than those who will have the possibility of delaying his pit stop as much as possible.
“I will not be able to lengthen the first stint that much – reiterated Sainz – and it will be penalizing in a race like the one that awaits us, it means starting on the wrong foot”.
A correct analysis, that of Carlos, but there are two aspects to keep in mind. The first is that the race will be on two stops, so it will not have the aggravating circumstance of having to pit more than the opponents. In the early stages of the race he will then be able to count on a tire that, at least in the three initial laps, should guarantee him good grip.
In any case, it will be a race in which the rubber factor will be destined to be the protagonist, due to the degradation that the teams expect especially on the rear axle.
A scenario confirmed by Laurent Mekies: “It promises to be a very tough race, both for the drivers and for the single-seaters. We expect very high temperatures, which will affect the handling of the tires, already put to the test by a very abrasive asphalt in itself. The work of preparing the strategy and its execution will be fundamental ”.
“Now is the time to focus on how to make my strategy work better tomorrow – reiterated Sainz – we have a good pace, as well as positive feelings from the car. We know we will have to be aggressive, let’s wait and see how the race evolves ”.
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