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

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.”