Ferrari left Austin with mixed emotions after Charles Leclerc's P2 finish at COTA. The upgraded SF-25 carried blistering race pace and managed tyre degradation beautifully, but team principal Fred Vasseur pinpointed two critical moments that cost the Scuderia a double podium—and possibly the outright win.
The first wound was self-inflicted: a Q3 disaster on Saturday forced Leclerc to burn through tyres fighting traffic while race winner Kimi Antonelli sailed in clean air. The second twist came courtesy of American irony. Lewis Hamilton was hunting down Max Verstappen's struggling RB22 in the closing laps when Valtteri Bottas' Cadillac—powered by Ferrari—suffered a hydraulic failure and triggered a late VSC that froze the race and saved Verstappen's podium.
Vasseur confirmed the pace was there for both drivers. Now Ferrari heads to the high-altitude crucible of Mexico City with an aero package that works and a Q3 execution problem to solve. Clean up Saturday, and the Scuderia becomes a serious problem for everyone.
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