Alexandre
The last Grand Prix of the 2024 season from Formula 1on the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi, doesn't seem to be going according to plan for Ferrari. While Charles Leclerc battles for second place in the drivers' championship and the Scuderia fight for first place in the constructors' championship, the weekend is already shaping up to be a complicated one, right from the start.
A difficult start to the weekend for Leclerc
Leclerc, which absolutely had to score points to keep its hopes of dislodging McLaren from the top of the constructors' championship alive, saw his chances dwindle even before the start of qualifying. Indeed, Ferrari had to replacing the single-seater battery of Charles Leclerc before the qualifying round, a situation that has automatically incur a 10-place penalty on the grid. The reason: it was the third battery used, a situation which seriously complicated the Monegasque's weekend.
"When we started the car, we saw that there was a problem with the battery and a lot of things went through my head. I wondered if I was going to be able to drive with my brother, which was a unique opportunity" (he drove in EL1 with his brother Arthur Leclerc), admitted Leclerc. But it's the championship that's still on his mind. "I was thinking about the championship because it makes our weekend that much harder. But I'm not demotivated, I'm already feeling better tonight and I'll be back tomorrow with my batteries fully charged, no pun intended. I hope we have a good day tomorrow and can get back up on Sunday."
A wasted Q2 and a much tougher grid
But Charles Leclerc's troubles didn't stop there.. In qualifying, the Ferrari driver saw his time cancelled in Q2, preventing him from advancing to Q3. As a result, he had to start from 13th on the grid. "I knew that this is the only corner where you can have a problem with the track limits. And when you attack... within a few centimetres it would have passed, but that wasn't the case," commented Leclerc after the session.
"It's my fault and it hurts. After that, to start 14th because we could have finished fourth I think, or to start 20th (19th in reality), it's obviously better to be 14th but it doesn't make the weekend any easier. We'll try to maximize the car's potential tomorrow, but today it's my fault," he added, resigned but still combative.
The battle for the manufacturer's title gets tougher
Ferrari, fighting for the constructors' title, has seen its chances reduced by a notch. Before the Grand Prix, the Scuderia had to score more than 22 points than McLaren to challenge for top spot. McLaren, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in excellent form, leads the championship with 640 points to Ferrari's 619. With both cars on the front row, McLaren is the clear favourite for this final race.
For Ferrari, a win accompanied by solid podiums from Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, not to mention potential mistakes from McLaren, would be necessary to create a surprise. But with Leclerc starting from the back of the grid, every point becomes crucial, and the margin of error is reduced to a minimum.
Leclerc: "I'm not giving up".
Despite the difficulties, Charles Leclerc remains optimistic. " I still believe in it, I'll believe in it right up to the last lap. Of course, it's a lot harder now that we know we've got the penalty, and with the lap wiped out we're not making our Sunday easy, but I'll believe in it right to the end," he declared, determined not to give up.