Charles Leclerc had imagined after this Saturday's Sprint race that he would be in better shape during the Grand Prix than in qualifying, but the final result on the Losail circuit still exceeded his expectations. The Monegasque in fact crossed the finish line behind Max Verstappen, but in front of the McLaren of Oscar Piastri, after a disjointed second half of the race, which notably saw Lando Norris receive a stop-and-go penalty of ten seconds. Better yet for the Scuderia, it regained points at the Woking team this Sunday, on a track which should not have favored them.
“I'm really very happy, I would have signed with both hands for a second position! After a weekend like this, on a circuit like this, which does not match the strengths of our car, we knew it would be very difficult compared to the McLarens. Finally, we manage to regain points from them, and the battle will continue until the final in Abu Dhabi next weekend. »
21 points to make up
However, the picture is not entirely idyllic for Ferrari, since Carlos Sainz suffered a puncture during the event. This alert on the Spaniard's car, caused by the presence of debris or by aggressive kerbs, was however ignored by Leclerc, who did not wish to sacrifice the slightest tenth in such a close fight with McLaren for the title.
“I don't know if the punctures come from the debris or from the way we have to navigate on these kerbs. I ignored my engineer's requests not to go over the curbs as it would have cost me too much time, so I hoped I wouldn't get a puncture myself. I stayed to the left on the straight hoping not to get trapped and it worked. It's a shame for Carlos because it would have been good for the team to have two cars in front, but it remains a positive weekend for the team. »
-Heading now for Abu Dhabi where the final round of the world championship will take place next weekend. With 21 points behind McLaren, Ferrari is not in a position of strength, but after a successful weekend on a circuit that appears to be “weak” for the SF-24, all dreams are allowed: “It's difficult to know who will have the advantage, we are all very close, it will be very close, and that's exciting. There are still 21 points to go for, that's a lot, but anything is possible and we're going to give it our all. »
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