Ferrari: no regrets in Abu Dhabi, even if gap to McLaren is minimal. Ferrari brought both drivers to the podium in Abu Dhabi.

For Ferrari, second place in the Constructors’ Championship, confirmed over the 57 laps at Yas Marina, is a result without regrets. The 33 points scored by Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix exceeded even the most optimistic pre-race forecasts, but ultimately resulted in a final tally of +7 over McLaren, which proved faster across the weekend as a whole.

The Scuderia endured two challenging days on Friday and Saturday, with technical setbacks and penalties relegating Leclerc to the last row of the starting grid, a decidedly difficult scenario for harboring realistic championship hopes.

In the race, however, the situation changed drastically, particularly for Charles. A perfect start, a dream first lap, and the misfortune that struck Oscar Piastri, who was hit by Verstappen at the first corner. At that point, some started doing calculations for the Constructors’ standings, aided by a relentless Leclerc, who continued to climb positions after crossing eighth at the end of the first lap.

Before the start, Charles had even bet with Frederic Vasseur on the position he would hold at the end of the first lap—a bet both lost, as neither predicted eighth place. Once the dust settled, the reality seen in qualifying and Friday’s long runs reemerged: McLaren had a couple of tenths advantage per lap. This margin was maintained consistently by Norris, underlining that there was no contest for the race win or, consequently, the Constructors’ standings.

There is nothing to regret. Surprisingly, the only sad face at the end of the race was not Carlos Sainz’s, even in his farewell race after four years in red, but Charles Leclerc’s, confirming how much Charles believed in the possibility of success. The much-discussed “two-against-one” scenario finally materialized, but even against Lando Norris alone, it became clear there was nothing to be done. The outcome would not have changed even if Charles Leclerc had started alongside Carlos Sainz.

Ferrari’s pit wall tried to keep Norris’s McLaren within reach (“If you stay close, you never know what might happen, even a puncture or a mistake,” Vasseur explained) without altering the strategic plans set before the race. Carlos Sainz pitted earlier than Lando Norris, ending up two seconds behind the British driver after McLaren’s stop, but the gap observed in the first stint on medium tires was confirmed with the hards.

Ferrari’s double podium is a respectable achievement, but not enough for a world-class feat. The Scuderia finished the season 14 points behind McLaren, demonstrating significant progress compared to the results of 2023.
“We’ve improved in many areas,” Fred Vasseur confirmed after the race, “strategies, pit stops, reliability, and pure performance. It’s true that we’re 14 points short; if it were 80 or 100 points, I might feel less frustrated. Right now, I can think of many races where we left 14 points on the table, but in the end, everyone had issues during the season, so we’ll need to do better next year. At the same time, I’m proud of the progress we’ve made.”