Vasseur: Ferrari had the pace, but Q3 fell short in Austin

Charles Leclerc finished second at the United States Grand Prix after targeting victory early in the race, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said. Vasseur said he welcomed the frustration of falling short of P1, and that Ferrari had pace from the moment it put the car on track Friday morning through the final lap.

Practice had offered promise: Leclerc was fastest on Friday and Hamilton topped FP3. In qualifying, though, they had to settle for fourth and fifth respectively on a tightly packed grid. Vasseur still called the weekend good for pace and execution, but admitted Ferrari had not done a perfect job in Q3; Leclerc’s fastest lap came in Q2.

Vasseur defended the two-stop strategy, calling it the right, aggressive choice from P4 and P5. Ferrari chose soft tyres, and both drivers made progress at the start. Leclerc passed Max Verstappen to finish second behind Kimi Antonelli, while Hamilton finished fourth behind Verstappen.

Vasseur said the car-and-tyre window was narrow, and a gust of wind or a small slide could cost two or three tenths. In such a tight top eight, he said, failing to get every detail right could mean moving from P2 to P6.