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Message: [QUOTE="Shamiso, post: 93932, member: 160"] Ferrari missed out on another Formula 1 win in Austin, despite Charles Leclerc taking second and Lewis Hamilton finishing fourth. The United States Grand Prix gave the team more points in the constructors' standings, but both drivers felt they had the pace for a better result. For Leclerc, the main issue came in qualifying. His tires took longer than expected to reach the right heat in Q3, leaving him fourth on the grid. He believes that poor starting spot may have cost Ferrari a real chance at the win. Austin is not an easy place to recover from that kind of setback. The Circuit of the Americas has a steep climb into a tight first corner, while its fast bends make close racing hard on tires. Cars running behind rivals can lose grip as heat builds. Yet Ferrari had looked quick in practice. Leclerc led both sessions on Friday, while Hamilton set the pace in FP3. That form faded when grid positions were on the line, with Hamilton taking fifth, just 0.044 seconds behind his teammate. The SF-26 still has a clear weakness on the straights. Hamilton says rival cars gain ground when Ferrari cuts power near corners. Red Bull has improved its grip, and Mercedes found about three-tenths through an upgrade, reducing the edge Ferrari once had in fast bends. Hamilton also had trouble finding the right setup. His first practice run went poorly, and later changes sent the car further from where he wanted it. The team made progress before qualifying, but he still lacked the race data Leclerc had gathered. And the race brought a fresh problem. Hamilton says his Ferrari developed severe understeer once the action began, despite behaving well on his way to the grid. His front wing setup left him short of the grip needed to keep up with the leaders. Ferrari tried to fix the issue during pit stops, adding four clicks of front wing adjustment on each visit. Even after eight clicks, Hamilton felt another four were needed. That left him frustrated by how far the car had been from its ideal balance. Those early struggles cost him roughly eight seconds. Hamilton believes that gap kept him off the podium, as he could not recover the lost ground in the first two stints. Still, he praised the team's pit work and race calls. Leclerc had a more lively race. After a clean start, he and Hamilton moved past Isack Hadjar and began chasing Max Verstappen. Leclerc fought the Red Bull driver for second, briefly getting ahead around the outside before losing the spot again. Battery power became an issue during that duel. Leclerc had less energy left to defend, though he remained pleased with how his car handled. His pace kept him in the fight with Verstappen and Lando Norris as the race went on. Kimi Antonelli, meanwhile, proved hard to catch. The Mercedes driver chose a single pit stop, which led Leclerc to expect his tires would fade near the finish. That drop in pace never came, and Antonelli held on for the victory. Ferrari's progress is still clear. The team has improved its race plans, pit stops, and car performance, while both drivers have gained confidence. Its grip on second in the team standings has grown, and Hamilton sits one point away from the runner-up spot in the drivers' race. But the gap to a win remains. Leclerc thinks Ferrari can still take another victory before the season ends. To make that happen, the team needs better qualifying, cleaner setups, and more speed when its rivals have an edge. [/QUOTE]

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