Charles Leclerc:
It's fair to say that we didn't go with the right strategy today. On paper, our numbers said that the one and two-stop strategies were very similar, but in reality, this was not the case. I felt good in the car all weekend and our race pace wasn't bad, so it's a shame that we didn't bring home a better result.
We have to use the rest of this season to learn as much as possible and make sure we extract the maximum out of every opportunity in the future.
Carlos Sainz:
I think today's result was the best we could do. The pace was decent and solid throughout the race and we even closed the gap to the car in P3 during the last laps. Unfortunately the competitors ahead were faster and we couldn't quite reach them.
We are not where we want to be and we knew it was going to be a tough one, but now we need to quickly switch our focus to Mexico and prepare for next week.
Lewis Hamilton:
Firstly, congratulations to Max and Red Bull. They have done an incredible job all year long, they've dominated and been nearly flawless. We were catching them towards the end, though. I was hopeful that I could, but I just need a couple of more laps. There has been so much work to bring this upgrade here and it was difficult after the last race in Qatar. I really felt like I let the team down, so I had to go through such a deep process to get myself back to here. It's one of those experiences of "it's not how you fall, it's how you get back up". I came here in the mood to fight hard, felt great and I'm really happy with my performance.
Overall, we still didn't perform optimally today. We had good pace and I was feeling great in the car. It was tough racing those around me as they were so quick, but we can be happy with many things. I feel positive as we're moving forward, even if reflecting on it we could have possibly won today. It is of course disappointing to be disqualified post-race but that doesn't take away from the progress we've made this weekend.
George Russell:
The race start really cost me today. I lost three positions and then, and I don't know why, when we put the Hard tyre on, I was massively off the pace. I had to manage the lift and coast too and I was just dropping like a stone. When we put the Medium tyre on, suddenly we were amongst the quickest cars on the track. I closed over 10 seconds on Max (Verstappen) in that final stint. It's disappointing when I definitely felt that there was the potential to fight for a podium.
The positive is that the car has improved. We have full focus on 2024 but we also know that the upcoming weekends should suit us more than here. We need to wait and see how we get on there. It's been a scrappy weekend for me but I'm feeling excited and motivated for the final four races of the year.
Esteban Ocon:
"It's been a very unfortunate Sunday for us today in Austin. It feels like there's been quite a few of those this year, which has really cost us. It's a pity as we had a good starting position for today's race and once again made up a few places with a strong launch and good opening corner. Unfortunately, there was then contact with Oscar [Piastri] and the damage to our floor was too severe to continue. There are some positives to take from our weekend and a lot to review as well. Mexico City is just around the corner and I know we will bounce back as a team."
Pierre Gasly:
"I'm feeling very pleased with today's result and, I must say, it's probably been our most complete weekend of the season so far with two strong Qualifying results and points from both races. We fell back a couple of positions at the start today, but I knew the pace of the car was good and we were able to keep it clean and fight our way forwards. Of course, we want to be fighting close to the front but this weekend has definitely been better for us where we have been able to extract the maximum from it. Operationally it was smooth and that's very satisfying for all of us at the team. Now our focus is on Mexico City and delivering another solid weekend."
Lando Norris
"It was great to be leading the race at the start. I could control the race a lot but it just wasn't enough today. However, I'm happy, it was a good race from my side. We knew what was going to be difficult today, which was the degradation, but the pace over the first ten laps of every stint was strong. We're getting there. We're making progress every weekend, just a few more steps needed. To finish on the podium here was better than we were expecting coming into the weekend. So overall, very happy."
Oscar Piastri
"It's a shame to have had to retire the car after only 10 laps. We had a good start and made up a few places but had a water leak that unfortunately ended our race. It's not been the easiest weekend, but there's been a lot of learnings. We took a step forward from yesterday and did improve but not to the level I want to be at. These are character building weekends that are very important in my first season, so we'll take from it what we can and bounce back in Mexico next week."
Valtteri Bottas:
"We gave everything out there today: strategy-wise, we did everything right, but unfortunately we just lacked pace throughout the weekend compared to our direct competitors. The bumpiness of the track also played a factor in our performance, as we had to run our car slightly higher than we wanted and thus sacrificed some downforce, which did not allow us to extract the most from our upgrades. As a slight positive, our direct competitors didn't score many points either today, which leaves the battle for seventh in the championship still open. I am looking forward to heading to Mexico in just a couple of days: last year the track suited our car well, and that hopefully will allow us to quickly get back in competitive form."
Guanyu Zhou:
"We seemed to have a better car at the start of the weekend, especially after changing the setup after FP1, but in the end we couldn't hold the positions we had claimed on Friday. Unfortunately, we just didn't have enough pace to keep up with our direct competitors. I felt like I was lacking grip, and overall I haven't really been able to get in the mix. I think this race has been quite tricky on our end, due to a lot of degradation; we will surely need to analyse what exactly happened this weekend, but I have the feeling that, whatever we could have changed in terms of tyres or strategy today, it wouldn't have made much of a difference. Now, we will quickly regroup, and hopefully make a strong comeback next week in Mexico."
Lance Stroll:
"Finishing ninth after starting from last in the pitlane is a positive result after a tough couple of days here at COTA. It's good to be back in the points after some difficult races. The set-up changes we made to optimise the performance have definitely put us in the right direction; we were much more competitive today. I had good grip in the corners, especially once we fitted the Medium compound, and I was able to make a few good overtakes going into Turn 12. We'll be working hard to take this momentum into Mexico next week."
Fernando Alonso:
"It was a great comeback race for us with a lot more pace in the AMR23. We were aiming to score some points having started from the pitlane, but, unfortunately, we had to retire with some damage. It's a shame as during the race today we looked quite competitive. We collected a lot of useful data and comparisons on the two cars today that will be crucial heading into the remaining races.
Kevin Magnussen:
"I think the race was better because of the changes we made. It still wasn't enough though, we weren't fast enough, and we finished in the position we started in from the pitlane, so we need to find more, but we live to fight another day. It felt better today after having done the changes, putting more downforce on and it was definitely a better set-up."
Nico Hulkenberg:
"The car felt better and I think the relative performance looked a lot more promising than yesterday but it came at a price, having to start from the pitlane. I feel like if we had a half decent qualifying and qualified in the midfield, we might've been able to fight and challenge for points today. There are some positives and encouraging signs, but at the same time it was difficult out there with a lot of tire management going on, but that was the case for everyone."
Yuki Tsunoda:
"It was a good race for me and I'm happy. To score points here three times in a row is amazing, especially in front of the Austin fans. A great job and congratulations to the team. Everyone back at the factory, in Faenza and Bicester, and trackside, are working very hard, and it's nice to see that the upgrades they deliver seem to be working well, and we're closing the gap to fight for P10. We got slightly lucky with Fernando (Alonso) in the end, but we maximised the performance because if we weren't driving there, we wouldn't have been able to benefit and score points. At first, I got a heart attack when the team called me in to box, because I thought there was an issue, but they told me we were going for the fastest lap on the soft tyre. It was my first experience going for the fastest lap in the final lap of the race, and I really enjoyed it, it was thrilling. Now we'll refocus and continue to carry this momentum into the final races of this season."
Daniel Ricciardo:
"Texas hasn't been too kind. At the start, we were doing well with our plan, but the problem was once the cars with blue flags came up behind us, we lost too much. We seemed to struggle in traffic and then picked up some damage later on, so after that, we lacked pace. On the medium compound, we were doing the same lap times as Yuki, but because I was on a one-stop, there was a bit more tyre management going on for me. Physically, I feel better today than yesterday, so the Sprint race was a good warmup for the Grand Prix. I got more race mileage, and there's a lot to learn from this race, so now it's full attack for Mexico."
Alex Albon:
I'm very happy for the team and especially Logan for scoring points today. We had our luck, but we were there to take it! My race felt a little compromised without any new Mediums, as we used them all yesterday in the Sprint. We also struggled with the Hards, forcing us to run our used Mediums. Nonetheless, to walk away with points is great for the team as we close out the remainder of the season.
Logan Sargeant:
It's amazing to score my first point in F1 on home turf after the challenging weekend I've had. I'm so proud of this team and myself for the hard work and progress we've been making this season.
We worked hard overnight to find a direction with the car that was going to be positive, and we found that. We couldn't change a lot as the car was under Parc Fermé, but we worked on the systems side using the tools on my steering wheel to help move the car in the right direction. The pace was so much better today, and I was driving really well. I had a great start but was unfortunate to catch the sausage kerb in Turn 1 and went into anti-stall which cost me a couple of positions. That changed the race a little bit, but we fought back, and I gave it my all every lap. We made steps in the right direction that we can build on and move forward as we head to Mexico.
