Ferrari’s drivers, Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, expressed frustration after a dip in performance during Sprint qualifying for the Formula 1 Austin Grand Prix, citing difficulties with the soft compound tyres. Despite showing early promise, the Scuderia’s pace faltered in the critical final segment of the session.
The team arrived in Austin without upgrades to its SF-24, yet displayed impressive speed in Friday’s sole practice session. Both drivers carried that momentum into the Sprint qualifying rounds, with Leclerc topping the timesheets in SQ1 and Sainz leading in SQ2.
However, regulations mandating the use of soft tyres in the final phase of Sprint qualifying hindered Ferrari’s chances. Although Leclerc and Sainz were separated by just thousandths of a second, neither was able to mount a serious challenge for pole position against Red Bull’s Max Verstappen or Mercedes’ George Russell.
Leclerc admitted his discomfort with the soft tyres, noting that he couldn’t replicate the feeling he had on the medium compound, where Ferrari’s pace had shone.
“P3 is not a bad starting position for the Sprint, but it’s disappointing we couldn’t fight for P1,” Leclerc said. “We had strong pace on the Mediums, but on the Softs, we just couldn’t extract the same performance. The lap wasn’t perfect, and the limited practice time didn’t help.”
Despite the setback, Leclerc remains optimistic, saying, “We don’t yet have a clear understanding of race pace across the grid, but a strong Sprint tomorrow would bode well for Sunday.”
Sainz echoed his teammate’s sentiments, pointing to a lack of performance on the soft compound but remaining confident in the car’s race setup.
“It was a close Sprint Qualifying session, and overall, we did well in SQ1 and SQ2 with the Medium tyres,” Sainz explained. “But with the Softs in SQ3, we lost a bit of ground. Tomorrow is a new opportunity, and I believe we have the race pace to be competitive.”
With both drivers confident in their high-fuel performance, Ferrari heads into the Sprint Race determined to make up positions, hoping that a solid showing will translate into a strong result on Sunday.
