Will the McLaren F1s be able to keep the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen behind them in the race today in Abu Dhabi?
In the long main straight of the circuit, won't Lando Norris, for example, suffer from his settings with more aerodynamic downforce, and therefore less top speed?
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Lando Norris rhetoric.
“But if that’s your analysis, then… We’ll see.” DRS and everything, it's probably not our biggest strength in qualifying. For the race, things are a little more balanced. We knew potentially that we would be at a bit of a disadvantage in qualifying, with the straight line speed. We hope that this will work in our favor again, because compared to Ferrari, we are a little behind. And compared to Red Bull, we are quite far behind. »
“It's not necessarily just a matter of support. We are at the lowest level our fin can offer. The next step for us would be too big. Maybe others are just in a better area or optimal range this weekend compared to us. The car was excellent all weekend. It works well, and we'll make sure it does the same in the race. »
By locking the front row, McLaren F1 finds itself in a strong position this Sunday.
Lando Norris will have an Oscar Piastri to protect him behind him normally: how does that make things much easier for the team?
“Zak (Brown) is probably more nervous about us being first and second than if we weren't, so… It gives us good confidence that the car is great, for sure. I think we both drove well this weekend, and we knew the pressure was there, coming from ourselves. So we both performed well. We got the most out of the car. »
“But it’s a long race, and a lot of things can happen. So we're definitely not going to get ahead of ourselves. We know we have a little advantage in terms of positions. We are in a much more favorable position than Ferrari. Carlos will want to put up a good fight for his last race with Ferrari. You know, he will want to prove things. And I'm excited to fight if that's the case. »
McLaren F1 expected to be in a favorable position this weekend in Abu Dhabi, but perhaps not as much when locking out the front row.
Was Oscar Piastri surprised? Does McLaren F1 really have a big advantage over the competition?
“Not necessarily. I think it's extremely close, and not just with the teams we expected it to be close with. You have a pretty mixed grid all the way through. Haas was very fast at times. Obviously, Hülkenberg (who qualified 4th but took 3 penalty places). Yes, I think our pace during practice was such that it almost felt like it was too good to be true, and coming into qualifying maybe it was a little bit. »
“I think there's no doubt that we clearly had a strong, strong car this weekend. During testing, everything seemed too easy to believe. So we still had work to do. Q1 and Q2 weren't as easy as we would have liked as a team, I think. But yes, Q3 was a little more comfortable again. And yes, a double is nice. But I definitely didn't think it was guaranteed coming into this week. »
Since Charles Leclerc will start last after his elimination in Q2 and his penalty, Carlos Sainz must almost carry Ferrari's meager hopes all by himself… isn't his mission impossible, however?
“It was already extremely difficult. It was, like I said, kind of a mission impossible before the weekend even started. Then we got to FP1 and Charles' battery died before he could drive, and the grid penalty was obviously a huge shock, a big blow. On top of that, there was the situation in Q2 for Charles. This obviously makes things much more complicated. »
“But at the same time, it's very likely that even with a perfect weekend where we both do perfect laps in Q3 and fight for victory, these two guys (McLaren F1) are still up there. So it was always going to be difficult. It just made our lives even more complicated. But until the checkered flag drops, you know, anything can happen. And I will continue to fight for what is to come. And I'm sure Charles, from the back, will be pushing hard to get every available point and see what happens with the McLarens. »
A final unforgettable Grand Prix for Carlos Sainz?
If Carlos Sainz gave Ferrari the constructors' title in his last race in red, it would of course be a memorable moment for him. Is he thinking about it in the back of his mind? Is emotion already taking over him?
“Yes, I don’t know what I might feel. I can only tell you how I feel so far, and I can tell you that the focus level of the whole team and my focus level has been so high to try to execute a perfect weekend and try to win the race and be on pole, that honestly I haven't had much time to be emotional, apart from obviously a few little details that the team is doing so far to make me feel at home and proud of this last race with the team. »
“But at the same time, I'm pretty sure that before or after the race, that emotion will start to come. It will start to affect me a little and it will become emotional. But the truth is that until now I haven't had time for that. We're all so focused, and we all want that constructors' championship or that last win together. You know, you don't have time to get too emotional, but before the race, yes, I will feel that. »
