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 crew had a 21-point deficit to beat in the event that they had 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 closing 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 as a consequence of 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 executed 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 may have executed higher. He advised that Fred Vasseur would seemingly have been annoyed with one specific division inside Ferrari, which may have value them the title. Ben Anderson pointed to the electronics crew as a key space the place Ferrari’s efficiency might have fallen quick: “I imply, construct higher batteries, have higher battery reliability might be the one factor. I’m certain Fred Vassar will likely be hammering the engine division and the electronics division on that rating since you don’t wish to bust your allocation. You bust your allocation, you’re screwed.” – the F1 journalist defined.
“Except you possibly can 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 value him a win in that race. So, you realize, 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 strain within the race. But when Leclerc qualifies on the primary two or three rows, possibly he will get wrapped up within the Verstappen-Piastri state of affairs. So it’s very troublesome to form of extrapolate.” – Ben Anderson continued.
Ferrari is decided 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 appear unfair, it’s value 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 crew principal isn’t frightened about Lewis Hamilton’s transition to Ferrari subsequent 12 months. His performances in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi, notably his racecraft, show 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 12 months, Ferrari may 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 may actually contend for each titles within the upcoming Method 1 season.
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