“I think we can fight for third place” – Ferrari’s Mattia Binotto

Scuderia Ferrari closed the gap to only three and a half points on the McLaren F1 team in the battle for third place in the constructors’ championship, after a strong performance in the American Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc drove a lonely but excellent race at the Circuit of the Americasto cross the finish line in a supervised. Teammate Carlos Sainz Jr had a much tougher Grand Prix after battling Mclarens Daniel Ricciardo for practically the entire race. The Spaniard was one of the team’s rivals from the start, after a fight in the first round not only with Ricciardo but also with his former teammate Lando Norris as.

Sainz would have rushed ahead of Ricciardo had it not been for another slow pit stop, Ferrari went for the undercut on the Australian, which they did not make. In the end, Sainz finished seventh, with Valtteri Bottas passed the Spaniard towards the end of the race. Nevertheless, Ferrari collected more points than McLaren, who finished fifth and eighth.

Team boss Mattia Binotto believes the team has made great strides this season but is disappointed with the valuable points lost after Sainz’s slow stop. Nevertheless, Binotto is confident that third place is still up for grabs.

“We’re leaving Austin after proving in both qualifying and the race that we’ve made progress on a track that on paper isn’t particularly suitable for our car. There is some disappointment, however, as we didn’t do as well as we could have done. Carlos’s mistake at the second pit stop cost him two places. “

We have always said that we need to use this season to make progress because only if we are perfect in all areas can we aim for the higher ranks and we saw the importance of that again today. One slip in what was a good weekend overall cost us valuable points.

“Charles and Carlos were excellent today and this part of the season the SF21’s performance has improved, thanks in part to the introduction of the new hybrid system. I believe that we can fight for third place until the end and that we have everything for it. “