P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Sainz: Bumpy COTA gives Ferrari F1 team-mate Leclerc an advantage
Leclerc has been performing better than Sainz in Austin, securing pole position for the main race and qualifying second in the Saturday shootout. Sainz, on the other hand, was fourth and sixth in the two sessions. Sainz attributes Leclerc’s advantage to the track characteristics and his ability to cope with the car bouncing and jumping around. Sainz explains that during sprint weekends, he is stuck with the baseline setup and struggles to get comfortable with the car. In terms of his choice to go with soft tires for the sprint race, Sainz admits that it didn’t give him much confidence, but they believed it could be a decent tire based on their analysis. Despite the challenges, Sainz managed to defend his position and finish in sixth place, which he considers a good result considering the circumstances. He acknowledges that he has been doing more defending than attacking throughout the year but believes he is improving in that aspect. He keeps his thoughts on the tire strategy call to himself but mentions that they gained valuable information for future races.
Source: motorsport
