Second place operation. The final rush that brought Ferrari -4 behind Mercedes in the Constructors’ standings greatly fueled the hopes of the Scuderia, which arrived at Yas Marina tired from the long flight from Las Vegas but also with a good dose of enthusiasm.
The team cares a lot about this goal and Charles Leclerc certainly isn’t holding back. On paper, the Yas Marina circuit is one of Mercedes’ hunting grounds, but during 2023 the historical data has often been contradicted. And speaking of 2023, Leclerc drew a small balance sheet, indicating the night in Las Vegas as the highlight of a season that he defined as disappointing overall.
Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images
Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari, celebrates 2nd place in Las Vegas
Charles also underlined how the physical effects of the long journey imposed by the calendar are visible on many of the team’s coaches, hoping for a change in the management of the season finale in the future.
Objective: second place in the Constructors’ classification. Only four points separate you from Mercedes, how do you see it?
“It will be a close match. We come into this weekend with good momentum, the last two races have been positive for us, but we have to consider that Mercedes has a pretty good history here in Abu Dhabi. So we will have to put everything together to find the points we need in the Constructors’ classification, this is clearly the objective.”
Do you think you will confirm the competitiveness of the single-seater on this track too?
“It depends on details, even the smallest, and this makes it difficult to make predictions. It will be tight, it will depend on how we manage to optimize everything in free practice.”
Photo by: Erik Junius
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Fred Vasseur stated that the momentum is on Ferrari’s side, how important is this aspect for you?
“Above all, the last race was very positive, the previous weekend also gave us good indications but not from the point of view of the final result. I can confirm that we are all super motivated in wanting to beat Mercedes, so yes, the momentum is good, but what will really count will be the work we do on the track.”
Regardless of what happens in the sprint for second place in the Constructors’ championship, how do you rate your season?
“The best moment was probably the last race. But if I have to give an honest opinion it was a disappointing season, especially if we consider what we did last year. We expected to be able to fight for the championship, but after the first race we immediately understood that it would be very difficult. Red Bull made a huge step forward, especially in race pace, and we just didn’t have that pace.”
“If I evaluate 2023 without considering the premises, I believe that we have made a lot of progress race after race, this is a positive aspect that makes me confident for the future. The downside of the coin is that we are called upon to close an important gap towards the Red Bull, we will work hard during the winter break in the hope of being where we want to be at the start of the next championship.”
What do you think of the weekend in Las Vegas? Did you have any problems with jet lag coming here to Abu Dhabi?
“I love Las Vegas, I really liked the track, much more than I initially thought, and the race was really fun too. My final opinion is undoubtedly positive. As for the jet lag, well I got here on a sixteen hour flight, and I was so tired that I had no trouble sleeping the first night, I would say… like a baby. In the end, in my case it wasn’t a problem, but I see that many mechanics and engineers in the paddock seem to be really tired and in difficulty.”
“Next year will be even more difficult because we will have three consecutive races, but I hope there will be an opportunity to reevaluate a little the way in which the season finale is organised. For 2024 it is already late, but I hope that after that reconsidered everything.”
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