Fred Vasseur says that the US GP was “very well executed” by Ferrari after Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz moved up from the second row to finish one-two.
From fourth on the grid Leclerc jumped into the lead at the start, while Sainz went from third to second on strategy.
The team showed good race pace throughout the weekend, having found an optimum set-up that was kind to the tyres of the SF-24.
“For sure we did a step forward after Monza, with Monza, Baku, Singapore,” said Vasseur. “But they are not conventional tracks, and it was probably a bit more important to be performant on this weekend, and we did a good job.
“It went well, mainly on the race pace, but in quali we struggled a little bit Friday and Saturday. But I’m very pleased with the result of the weekend, because at the end of the day, the car was okay, but we did also a very good job from the beginning to the end.
“Very well executed on the strategy, the pit stop, the start. Everything went well, and it’s a good weekend.”
Asked by formu1a.uno how satisfying it was to have such a perfect race and win from the second row he said: “It was not the plan and to start third and fourth! I would have preferred to start one and two.
“But it is like it is. I think Carlos was in a very good lap before the yellow flag or the red flag in quali, and I could have done the pole.
“It was true also between Friday and Saturday, that we had a better pace on the race pace and the long stint than on the quali. It’s not a drama in Austin, because you have occasions to overtake, and it’s one of the tracks if you start third and fourth, then you have a good pace, you can still win the race.
“It’s not always true, and I’m not sure that it would be true on every single track until the end. I think that sometimes we will have to do another choice, and but I think this weekend was the good one.”
While Vasseur acknowledged that the team was missing qualifying pace in Austin, he indicated it wasn’t due to a specific weakness on the soft tyre relative to rivals.
“I’m not whether it’s related to the compound,” he said. “I think it’s more of the pace on one lap, but it’s also a choice in terms of a setup.
“Austin is also a strange one, because you have the first part very high-speed, bumpy, and the last part more load, low-speed, smooth, and you have to decide where you want to be competitive. And the same for the race.
“I think the other teams went a little bit in our direction between Saturday and Sunday, but we kept the advantage, and at least on the tyre deg, it’s big advantage to be in a good shape on the last part.”
Ferrari came to Austin with a stable package in terms of aero parts declared to the FIA, although Vasseur hinted that there were changes under the skin of the SF-24.
“You have to do it step-by-step,” he said. “And honestly, when you speak about upgrades, it’s what we are declaring, and that means that it’s aero, but performance is not only the external shape of the car. And everybody’s pushing, and we are pushing.
“I think honestly now we are the point of the development that when a team is bringing something, we are speaking about tenths of seconds, not more, and you have much more into the setup and so and sometimes.
“And it’s true, I think, from the beginning of the season, when the team is bringing something, it’s perhaps sometimes a step forward in terms of pure performance, but it’s also creating a bit of mess into the setup. And it’s not always a step forward in terms of results.”
