Saturday, 23 November 2024
- Race: P3, 50 laps

• Carlos Sainz finished on the podium of the Las Vegas GP in third place, which contributes to Ferrari narrowing the gap to McLaren by another 12 points. The team is trailing now by 24 points with two Grand Prixes to go.
• The Spanish race driver started from second place, but he was down to third after the start. Instead of giving up, he focused on tyre management in order to handle the graining, which was a recurrent issue today due to the cool temperatures.
• Carlos’ good management of the Medium tyre compound enabled him to recover the second place from his teammate Charles Leclerc, although both of them were later overtaken by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
• In the second pit-stop, the team asked him to stay on track one more lap moments after confirming the pit-stop. After the tyre change, Carlos lost a place to Lewis Hamilton and was down to fourth.
• In the closing laps, though, Carlos made the most of his Hard tyres and managed to pass Max Verstappen, which ultimately enabled him to finish the race on the podium.

QUOTES:
“I think we maximized the points as a team today, but I was expecting to be more competitive after what we had seen in practice. Today Mercedes was clearly the faster car and even without the misunderstanding at the pit entry on my second stop I don’t think we would have been able to stay ahead of Lewis. It’s positive to score another podium and take important points from McLaren. We will keep fighting in the next races to keep the battle for the Constructors’ title open until the end. On to Qatar".

COMING UP:
Qatar GP, Lusail International Circuit – 29-1 December 2024