Charles Leclerc was surprised by Ferrari's pace in United States Grand Prix qualifying as he and team-mate Lewis Hamilton finished third and fifth in Sunday's race.
Ferrari had struggled for pace in Austin ahead of qualifying, with Leclerc and Hamilton having disappointing performances in Friday's sprint qualifying, finishing 10th and eighth respectively. The pair then continued to make progress in Saturday's sprint, largely by avoiding the chaos at Turn One where McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri crashed after being involved in a multi-car incident.
However, things turned around in Grand Prix qualifying as Ferrari were a constant threat on the timesheets, leaving Leclerc scratching his head after finishing third.
“It was a big surprise, especially considering what a very difficult weekend it was for us from the start,” he said.
“We tried to put everything together in qualifying and we managed to do that, but I think we still need to learn a few things from the car because the performance fluctuates so much over the same weekend without fundamentally changing the car, so we'll look at that.”
Ferrari has often shown more pace in grands prix than qualifying, and Leclerc is confident that he will need to make progress early if he wants to maximize the SF-25's potential.
“I think everything will start from scratch and have free air,” he said. “If we are behind the other cars after Turn 1, it will be difficult. If we are in front of everyone, it will be easier, so go all out tomorrow into Turn 1.”
Leclerc's teammate Hamilton is the most successful driver at Circuit of the Americas, with five wins, the last of which came in 2017.
The seven-time world champion is yet to stand on a grand prix podium in the new colors after a difficult first year with Ferrari, and he hopes to change that on Sunday.
“This is the closest I’ve been in God knows how long,” Hamilton said. “It took me a long time. It's not for lack of trying, but I'm going to do everything I can to try and get there tomorrow.”
Ferrari is competing with Mercedes and Red Bull for the constructors' championship. With Max Verstappen on pole and George Russell and Kimi Antonelli both finishing in the top seven, Sunday could provide another tense chapter in the battle.