Scuderia Ferrari is looking forward to shining in Las Vegas

This weekend in Las Vegas will not be worth more points than those in Losail and Abu Dhabi, but it will certainly be crucial for the Team Ferrari. Charles Leclerc et Carlos Sainz expect that the circuit designed in the heart of the Vegas Strip will be the most compatible with the qualities of the SF-24 at the end of the season, and that it would be a good omen to collect big points in Nevada.

Chasing a world title since 2008 and the Constructors' title won by Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa, the Scuderia is well placed to dream of ending a sixteen-year drought. Before the Las Vegas weekend, Ferrari is only 36 points behind the leader McLaren, and 13 points ahead of Red Bull, 3rd.

"It's not that far away, so we know it's a possibility.", Charles Leclerc told British Sky. “However, we are not really focusing on that. We obviously prefer to focus on the stages and the races. For this weekend, we have a positive feeling about this circuit. We think we will be strong, but that does not mean we will dominate the whole weekend – that will not happen.” 

Charles Leclerc, who made the most spectacular braking of last season at T14 on Sergio Perez and on this same circuit, expects an extremely tough battle. "I think it will be extremely close with Red Bull and McLaren. We just need to be ahead of them and perform better than them and at the end of the year we will do the maths. But obviously the constructors' championship is the target we are aiming for."

The same story goes for Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard, who will leave Ferrari at the end of the season to make room for Lewis Hamilton, hopes to offer a magnificent farewell gift to the Scuderia, but is not sure whether the red cars will be able to shine or not. "I think looking at the track layout you could say 'yes, Ferrari should be competitive'"Sainz said. "Or at least, she should be in the know." The Madrilenian refers to the great performances displayed by the SF-24 since the start of the season on very high-speed circuits such as Monza or Mexico.

The former McLaren driver, however, calls for vigilance regarding expectations. “When you feel the temperatures and you know how hard we have been at times changing tyres this year and everything else, then definitely not. So there are two factors – we’ll see how they stack up against each other and who performs better this weekend.” The Scuderia, which had not initially planned to bring updates, has notably decided to bring a front wing which is undoubtedly a little more at the limit of the regulations in terms of flexibility.

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