Red Bull misjudged Ferrari race pace in Austin, concedes Helmut Marko

With Red Bull having been unable to challenge Ferrari for victory, Red Bull motorsport advisor Dr. Helmut Marko has acknowledged that the Scuderia displayed a stronger race pace than the reigning champion team had anticipated before the race.

Ferrari locked out the second row on the grid for the United States Grand Prix, with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc setting the third and fourth-quickest lap in Saturday's qualifying session.

When the lights went green, both Ferraris had a great start from the second row, but Leclerc had the track position on the inside when the leading duo of Lando Norris and Max Verstappen ran wide. Although an early safety car meant that Leclerc had to defend hard from Verstappen at the restart, he was faultless as he disappeared up the track to take his third win of the year.

His team-mate Carlos Sainz complained about technical issues in the early stages of the race, but Ferrari managed to cure the problem with a tweak to the setting. The Spaniard managed to undercut Verstappen in the pit stops, and then was also able to pull away for to Ferrari’s second 1-2 of the season.

Red Bull motorsport advisor Dr. Helmut Marko acknowledged that the reigning championship team misjudged Ferrari's race pace as it had expected the Scuderia to encounter higher tyre degradation.

Speaking to Speedweek, Marko said: “When Ferrari has a race where everything clicks, they’re often very strong, but I don’t think they can repeat this on all tracks.

“Charles Leclerc was incredible. We thought he would wear out the tires, but he maintained his race pace until the end. Carlos Sainz also did well—it was a misjudgment on our part."