With a deadly one-two, McLaren places a critical maintain on the Constructors’ Championship. The Abu Dhabi qualifying periods affirm the state of grace of the Woking workforce, appreciated all through the weekend, softening the remorse for surprising points at Ferrari. The Scuderia seems reinvigorated by the last-minute changes to the setup, although it’s clear that bringing the championship again to Maranello would require a feat. Better hope lies with Haas, who, with the extraordinary Nico Hulkenberg, goals to reclaim sixth place within the championship.
In Abu Dhabi, each title contenders decide for the same setup technique, specializing in a excessive stage of aerodynamic downforce to warmth the tires rapidly and restrict their slip, paying the worth of being the slowest within the pace traps on the finish of the straight. Nonetheless, the strategy pays off for each groups, particularly for Woking. In contrast to Ferrari, McLaren manages to make the distinction within the technical third sector, gaining at the least two-tenths on the whole competitors.
The ultimate sector of Abu Dhabi is characterised by a sequence of brief, medium-low pace corners, harking back to these road circuits that favor nook exit traction. It’s no coincidence that on this part McLaren shows a dominance much like what was seen in Singapore and Zandvoort. On the subject of controlling rear tire overheating, the MCL38 proves to be the very best automotive, a energy that secures a stronghold on the Abu Dhabi victory, together with the Constructors’ title. “When there are medium-speed corners, it seems like we’re the very best automotive,” confirms Andrea Stella. The effectiveness within the third sector lays the very best groundwork for tire administration throughout the race, with McLaren aiming to take care of the lead within the first half earlier than pulling away after the pit cease, when the MCL38 turns into extra aggressive with an empty gas tank.
“I consider in miracles,” says Charles Leclerc in entrance of the journalists within the paddock. In actual fact, at this level, a supernatural intervention could be wanted to permit Ferrari to regain the Constructors’ Championship. Nonetheless, there’s excellent news for the Scuderia, having regained competitiveness after a tough trio of free observe periods. “We modified the automotive fairly a bit from FP3, and I believe we went in the suitable path,” says the Monegasque driver. In qualifying, Ferrari succeeds the place it had struggled as much as that time, attacking the time with tires prepared from the beginning and matching McLaren’s occasions within the first sector.
General, the SF-24 seems rather more balanced than at the beginning of the weekend, with Carlos Sainz coming simply 9 thousandths behind Oscar Piastri in second. It’s identified that Ferrari is extra aggressive within the race than in qualifying, however the long-term tempo stays an unknown after the poor outcomes on Friday with the earlier setup configuration. Carlos Sainz may have the daunting process of defeating the 2 McLarens, whereas a comeback from the again for Leclerc appears much more unlikely, particularly now presumably with a very new energy unit. If essential, Maranello will work in a single day to good essentially the most aggressive engine mapping potential, in an try and make that miracle occur wherein the Scuderia continues to consider.
Max Verstappen will begin from fourth place, reflecting on the constraints of the RB20 uncovered by the Abu Dhabi monitor: “We all know we’re good in medium and high-speed corners, however right here there are some which are extra medium-low pace. This has all the time been a little bit of our weak point.” But, the world champion exhibits first-row potential however misses out on the ultimate decisive lap.
Crimson Bull deserves credit score for fixing the understeering points from Friday. Nonetheless, in qualifying, Verstappen complains a couple of stability that evolves by way of the assorted phases of nook entry, mid-corner, and exit. The Dutch driver doesn’t miss the chance to set the event agenda for 2025: “We all know that if we resolve our issues, we’d discover a number of time per lap. It must be accomplished as a result of the stability oscillations make it very tough to discover a good compromise with the instruments we’ve got within the automotive. We have to work on this for subsequent 12 months.” The final qualifying of the season is the right image of Crimson Bull on the finish of the 12 months: a automotive as soon as once more aggressive and combating for high positions, however nonetheless removed from perfection and beatable.
After the fun of Las Vegas and Qatar, the Silver Arrows return to the again of the grid. Lewis Hamilton, eradicated in Q1, suffers from the influence of a cone hit on the finish of the ultimate sector, in addition to a preparation lap closely hindered by visitors. George Russell, alternatively, advances to Q3 however solely manages seventh place. In contrast to earlier occasions, the Yas Marina circuit and temperatures don’t spotlight Mercedes’ strengths, with the workforce’s weekend preparations influenced by experiments on the setup to enhance their understanding of floor impact for 2025.
“We tried some fairly drastic issues with the automotive,” confirms Russell. “In the previous couple of weekends, there have been a number of Dash races, so we virtually obtained into the mentality that this was a check weekend for us. Loads was accomplished on the automotive, and we tried quite a few issues, and I believe perhaps we obtained misplaced.” The workforce is now making ready for a last race that’s unlikely to convey a lot pleasure, aiming to shut out 2024 and give attention to the brand new season as quickly as potential.
Behind the grid, the opposite world battle unfolds, this one for sixth place. The penalty drops Haas’ Hulkenberg to seventh, however the potential proven all through the weekend suggests an attacking race. “The traits of this monitor swimsuit our automotive. A great a part of our growth has centered on medium-speed corners, and there are numerous of these right here,” displays the German. The aim will likely be to get better 6 factors on Alpine, which struggled all through the weekend earlier than regaining competitiveness on the final minute, with Gasly ranging from the third row. Simply behind, Valtteri Bottas will begin, managing the feat of qualifying the Sauber into Q3, confirming its progress. The long run Audi workforce arrives on the final race with new updates to the ground, which may also be evaluated throughout the Tuesday exams forward of 2025. Nonetheless, Binotto has been clear: the aim will likely be to win by 2030.
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