F1 2024 United States GP | Post Race Press Conference

F1 2024 US GP | Post Race Press Conference

Charles Leclerc took a flawless victory in the United States Grand Prix, the Monegasque leading Ferrari team mate Carlos Sainz in a one-two after storming through into the lead on the opening lap, while a tense late-race battle between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen saw Norris receive a penalty and drop to fourth behind his title rival.

Left thrilled by his superb victory in the United States Grand Prix the Monegasque stating that Ferrari are “targeting the title” after the squad took a dominant one-two at the Circuit of The Americas.

While Leclerc had lined up in P4 on the grid – one position behind team mate Carlos Sainz – the 27-year-old enjoyed an impressive start, having benefitted from pole-sitter Lando Norris going wide in his scrap with Max Verstappen up ahead to surge through into P1 on the opening lap.

It then proved to be a smooth drive to the chequered flag for Leclerc as he took his third win of the season and eighth of his F1 career so far, a dream result following some ups and downs during the weekend in Austin.

“[I’m] very happy,” Leclerc said after jumping out of the car. “It hasn’t been an easy weekend, until now I have been struggling a bit with the feeling with the car, but I had the confidence that in the race the feeling was better and it was the case.

“We’ve seen it yesterday in the Sprint race, we were a bit… not scared, but we thought the others would improve a lot more today but we still had the upper hand, so [I’m] really happy with today. A one-two for the team, we couldn’t have dreamed for better.”

The result has certainly given Ferrari a significant boost in the constructors’ battle, with their new total of 496 meaning that they trail second-placed Red Bull by only eight points, while McLaren remain in the lead on 544.

Max Verstappen expressed his frustration following a tricky United States Grand Prix that saw him settle for a third-place finish after a nail biting late battle with championship rival Lando Norris.

The closing laps of the race were a dramatic affair as the McLaren chased down Verstappen for the final podium spot, eventually passing him at Turn 12 on Lap 52.

The move saw both drivers go wide with Norris passing the Dutchman off track and it wasn't long before it was under investigation by the stewards.

Following discussions with his race engineer, the papaya team opted not to give the place back and the Briton was dealt a five-second time penalty. Having eked out a 4.1s gap ahead of Verstappen, he was demoted to P4 at the chequered flag.

Touching on the decision, the Red Bull driver said: “I have my opinion but I don’t need to say it here, I’ll let the stewards do their thing. For us again it was a race that we learned a lot and we’ll just analyse that.

Lando Norris has insisted that he did the right thing by not initially giving a position back to Max Verstappen during their fierce late-race battle in the United States Grand Prix, with Norris subsequently handed a penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.

In the drivers’ standings, Leclerc remains in third place but is now just 22 points adrift of Norris in second. Verstappen, meanwhile, has stretched his lead over Norris to 57 points.

📌 Circuit of the Americas, Texas, United States of America

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