Sainz explains what prevented him from fighting for victory after Ferrari 1-2 in Austin

While Carlos Sainz declared himself “incredibly happy” with Ferrari’s one-two finish in the United States Grand Prix, he was also left to ponder what might have been on a personal level after settling for the runner-up spot.

Sainz impressed throughout the weekend at the Circuit of The Americas, finishing second behind Red Bull driver Max Verstappen in the Sprint race and out-qualifying team mate Charles Leclerc for the main event by securing third on the grid.

READ MORE: Leclerc leads dominant Ferrari one-two in Austin as Norris loses third to Verstappen after penalty

When the Grand Prix got under way, it was Leclerc who made the strongest of starts from fourth to slip past Sainz and squabbling championship rivals Verstappen and Lando Norris at Turn 1, taking the lead and never looking back.

Sainz emerged from the first corner just behind Verstappen in P3 but, having briefly challenged the reigning world champion, lost valuable time when problems developed aboard his car – the Spaniard at one stage smelling fuel in the cockpit.

He got a handle on the situation via some engine map instructions from the Ferrari pit wall, with a relatively early stop to swap medium tyres for hards also enabling Sainz to undercut Verstappen and assume a net second position.

However, any hopes Sainz had of challenging Leclerc for the win had effectively been dashed, with the latter returning to the track from his sole stop several seconds clear and expertly managing the situation to the chequered flag.

Asked for his overriding emotion post-race and whether he viewed the outcome as a good result, or a potential race win gone begging, Sainz replied: “A mix of both, no?

READ MORE: Leclerc insists Ferrari are ‘still targeting the title’ after superb Austin triumph

“First of all, I’m incredibly happy for the team and the team effort, getting a one-two and so many points for the constructors’ – I think that’s priority number one. Congratulations to Charles, obviously, for a great drive.

“From my side, I feel like I’ve been very quick all weekend, I’ve been on it, I’ve been doing everything I could to win this race. Unfortunately, we got a bit blocked at the start, then we had a couple of issues during the first stint with the power unit.

“Even though I was very quick on the hards, and I was the first to pit, I just lost too much time at the beginning and I couldn’t get it back. But I’ll take the positives and keep fighting.”

Indeed, Sainz took plenty of encouragement out of Ferrari’s display in Austin as the team – on a more traditional circuit – seemingly took a significant step towards confirming that recent updates have worked.

“We’ve been definitely on a very good set-up from the beginning,” said Sainz. “I felt really comfortable with the car right from the beginning. It’s good to see, because in these sorts of tracks we were expecting to struggle a bit more.

FACTS AND STATS: Ferrari’s first US one-two since 2006 and a best-ever home result for Haas

“To be the fastest on track during the race was something that I’m very happy with, obviously, and it’s something we can bank on for the rest of the year. I hope it repeats itself more often and gives me another chance to win.”

Ferrari’s one-two finish acts as a massive boost in the constructors’ championship, with their points tally now rising to 496, behind Red Bull on 504 and leaders McLaren on 544.