Heads Held High

There is no need for recrimination for Scuderia Ferrari HP after today’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina circuit. Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc and the whole team produced the best race possible to finish second and third behind Lando Norris in the McLaren, the English team thus securing the Constructors’ title by just 14 points – 666 to 652. This is the smallest winning margin in the Constructors' since the race winner has been awarded 25 points (2010). Carlos drove a great race, always putting Norris under pressure, although no mistakes were forthcoming from the Englishman. Charles got the perfect start and then produced a memorable opening lap which later combined with a perfectly executed strategy and pit stop saw him make up a total of 16 places to make it to the podium for the 13th time this year, the 22nd for the team. 

The race. Carlos had quite a lonely race. At the start, he made the most of the collision between Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen to move up to second. After that, he basically matched Norris’ pace, trying to put him under pressure during the first stint on Medium tyres and again at the start of the second part on the Hards, without his second place ever coming under threat. Charles’ race was a different matter altogether. He started from 19th on the grid on Medium tyres and by the end of the opening lap he was already eighth, making the most of incidents, but also pulling off six overtaking moves. He was moving through the field at the rate of around one place per lap until he was fourth behind George Russell, who was quick on the straights. At this point, the pitwall crew reacted quickly and as soon as there was enough of a gap so that he could emerge ahead of the group of slower cars behind, he was called in to change tyres. This meant Charles was then able to undercut the Mercedes. When Lewis Hamilton pitted, the Monegasque moved up to third, a position he held comfortably to the chequered flag.

Testing and then a break. Scuderia Ferrari HP has thus finished second in the Constructors’ classification, with Charles and Carlos third and fifth respectively in the Drivers’ as was the case in 2021 and 2022. The Spaniard’s time at Maranello now comes to an end, with four wins, six pole positions, 25 podiums and 900.5 points. For Carlos, 2025 starts on Tuesday when he will take part in the end of season test for Williams. Charles will be at the wheel of his SF-24, while Antonio Fuoco and Arthur Leclerc will drive the other car. Tuesday night therefore marks the end of track action for the season. It was great to fight for the title to the very last race, and for next year the determination is there to do even better. 

Carlos Sainz #55

We gave it everything we had. I did my best to try to keep Lando (Norris) under pressure but today McLaren was just a bit faster overall. Congratulations to the Papaya team for the Constructors’ Championship, they fought hard and they deserve it!

As a team, we should be proud of what we’ve accomplished this year—five wins and numerous podiums is no small feat in such a tight championship.

It was an emotional parade lap after the chequered flag and I suspect tonight will bring even more emotions. 

Thank you, Scuderia Ferrari, this is truly a special team. These four years together are something I will always cherish and I have no words to describe it in a simple final quote. Grazie di cuore!

 

Charles Leclerc #16

Even though the race itself was incredible, we fell short of our main objective of winning the constructors’ title, so the disappointment is there today. 

The first lap was really strong, I managed to make up 11 positions going from P19 to P8. The whole first stint was good, but it was a bit tricky to overtake because there was a train of DRS ahead. We managed to make it through and preserved our tyres well, so I am very happy with the way we manage our race. There was nothing we could have done better.

Speaking about Carlos, it has been incredible to share team with him for four seasons. We pushed each other to new heights and moved the team positively, always keeping respect for each other. That we are here today, missing our on the world title by 14 points, is also thanks to his contribution. I wish him all the best and look forward to seeing what he will do in the future.

Looking at next year, I hope that we can start the season off with a really strong car. This is probably where we missed our this year, coming back strong in the second half of the season which is where we made a big impact thanks to the incredible work of everyone back in our factory who created the upgrades which let us perform the way we have. This gives me confidence for the future and I really look forward to being back on track in 2025. A big thank you to the whole team that has made this season possible.

 

Fred Vasseur Team Principal Scuderia Ferrari HP

We pushed all the way to the last corner of the last lap. I am very happy with the job we did today, because it was unexpected to finish P2 and P3, given where Charles was on the grid. 

Today, Charles drove a great race. Before the start I had a bet with him on what his position would be at the end of lap 1 and we both lost it as he was too far ahead of what we had both predicted and we can say it’s definitely not today that we lost the championship. It’s a bit frustrating to finish 14 points behind McLaren as it is a very small margin, less than 2% of the total available. I have huge respect for what McLaren has done in recent years. So congratulations to them.

From our side, the target is never to be P2 so, if you are not P1 it means you have to improve, but I’d say we had a good season, making a solid step forward as we’ve scored 50% more points than last season, but the target remains that of winning titles.

And finally a word for Carlos: he was always very professional, always consistent and he and Charles always fought each other hard which is a good thing as you progress faster as a team this way. I wanted to see the team all pulling in the same direction and Carlos did more than his share in achieving that.

For next year, myself and everyone in the team do not need to look for motivation, because we already have it! From tomorrow, we will already be focused on 2025.