Scuderia Ferrari got here agonizingly near ending their 16-year drought in securing the Constructors’ Championship.
Heading into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Frederic Vasseur knew his group had a 21-point deficit to beat in the event that they have been to grab the title away from McLaren.
Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc would have left the paddock on Saturday absolutely conscious of the immense problem forward after seeing Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri declare the front-row spots. For the Spanish driver, it was set to be his last race with Ferrari, whereas Charles Leclerc overtly acknowledged to the media that he was in dire want of a ‘miracle,’ together with his beginning place set for nineteenth on the grid. The Monegasque driver had been eradicated in Q2 attributable to observe limits infringements on his flying lap and was additionally handed a 10-place grid penalty for an vitality retailer unit change.
Regardless of these setbacks, each drivers delivered stellar performances, ending second and third behind Norris. Nonetheless, Lando Norris’ victory was nonetheless sufficient to safe McLaren the Constructors’ Championship.
Former Method 1 driver David Coulthard praised Charles Leclerc for his flawless first lap, and Carlos Sainz couldn’t have performed extra earlier than making his transition to Williams’ automotive lower than 24 hours later.
On the F1 Technique Report Podcast, journalist Ben Anderson mentioned what Ferrari might have performed higher. He prompt that Fred Vasseur would probably have been annoyed with one explicit division inside Ferrari, which might have price them the title. Ben Anderson pointed to the electronics group as a key space the place Ferrari’s efficiency might have fallen brief: “I imply, construct higher batteries, have higher battery reliability might be the one factor. I’m positive Fred Vassar can be hammering the engine division and the electronics division on that rating since you don’t need to bust your allocation. You bust your allocation, you’re screwed.” – the F1 journalist defined.
“Until you may take a tactical one in some unspecified time in the future earlier within the season. That’s what clearly Purple Bull did with the engine for Max and Spa. However that price him a win in that race. So, you understand, it’s all about reliability on that rating. That will have meant then Charles Leclerc qualifies higher and so they can put Norris beneath extra stress within the race. But when Leclerc qualifies on the primary two or three rows, perhaps he will get wrapped up within the Verstappen-Piastri state of affairs. So it’s very tough to sort of extrapolate.” – Ben Anderson continued.
Ferrari is set to enhance their efficiency within the Constructors’ Championship with the arrival of Lewis Hamilton.
Carlos Sainz ended the season in fifth place within the Drivers’ Championship, simply two factors behind Oscar Piastri and 66 factors adrift of Charles Leclerc. Whereas evaluating the Spanish driver to Lewis Hamilton could seem unfair, it’s price noting that the seven-time world champion was outperformed by his teammate George Russell and completed 67 factors behind the Spaniard.
Eddie Jordan believes Ferrari ought to rethink Lewis Hamilton’s contract in an effort to retain Carlos Sainz, but it surely’s now too late for that.
The Ferrari group principal isn’t frightened about Lewis Hamilton’s transition to Ferrari subsequent yr. His performances in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi, notably his racecraft, exhibit that he nonetheless possesses the ability to compete on the highest degree. Although Lewis Hamilton might want to handle some qualifying challenges he confronted this yr, Ferrari might have a aggressive package deal in 2024, as demonstrated by Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc’s outcomes. If the automotive proves robust and free from premature technical failures, Ferrari might actually contend for each titles within the upcoming Method 1 season.
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