The famous Scuderia Ferrari F1 team is now within touching distance of rivals Mercedes after Charles Leclerc finished third and Lewis Hamilton fourth at the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.

Ferrari opted for an extremely bold and aggressive decision to put Leclerc on the most grippy but fastest degrading soft compound tyre at the start. And it paid handsome dividends, the Monegasque driver rocketing past Lando Norris’ McLaren and up to second place behind Max Verstappen.

16 LECLERC Charles (mco), Scuderia Ferrari SF-25, action during the 2025 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, on the Circuit of the Americas, in Austin, Texas, United States of America – Photo Antonin Vincent / DPPI

Utilising the very best of his defensive driving skills, Leclerc was able to hold Norris behind him until lap 22 and the switch to medium tyres. It even looked like he may keep the charging Norris at bay towards the end of the race, but ultimately, he had to settle for third and another good podium.

“I’m happy with our weekend,” stated Leclerc on the official Ferrari website. “We made a very good recovery, from starting out with an issue in FP1 which put us on the back foot, to making progress in Sprint Qualifying and the Sprint race, delivering a solid qualifying, and being rewarded with a podium after staying focused on the job.

“We were on a more aggressive strategy today, so my target was to gain positions at the start. Arriving on the grid as the only car on the Softs looked risky, but ultimately, it paid off. Our team did a good job and we will push to keep this momentum as we head into the final rounds of this season.”

LECLERC Charles (mco), Scuderia Ferrari SF-25, portrait during the 2025 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, on the Circuit of the Americas, in Austin, Texas, United States of America – Photo Xavier Bonilla / DPPI

For Hamilton, it was another strong performance for the seven times world champion, starting on the more conventional strategy of starting on the mediums before switching to softs on lap 31.

“It’s been a productive Sunday overall,” added the Englishman. “Today’s race was a strong result for the team and we gained some good points. My first stint was encouraging, and I was in the fight for third, but after my pit stop the gap to the top three became too difficult to close.

“As a whole, the weekend has been a positive one. It showed the progress we’re making as a team and confirmed there’s still more potential to unlock in the SF-25. Thank you to all the fans here, who brought incredible energy all weekend.”

It all means that Scuderia Ferrari trails Mercedes by only seven points heading into the Mexican Grand Prix weekend. It’s certainly all to play for with five rounds remaining.

Race winner Max Verstappen, Second placed Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren and Third placed Charles Leclerc of Monaco and Scuderia Ferrari on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 19, 2025 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Simon Galloway/LAT Images) / Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool /

TEAM UP WITH ACRONIS

Motorsport Technology is an Acronis initiative, one of the leading players on worldwide Cyber Security and a key player in motorsport data protection.

The current partners of Prema F2, Hendrick Motorsports, Brad Jones Racing, Walkinshaw Andretti United and Grove Racing. They have previously partnered with Scuderia Toro Rosso, Racing Point, WilliamsF1 and Toyota GAZOO RACING amongst others.

Acronis has opened up an exciting #TeamUp Program, giving new and existing service providers the opportunity to support sports partnerships, join the sports ecosystem, attend races and enjoy amazing sports marketing benefits. To find out more, please visit Cyber Protection for global sports – Acronis