Ferrari concluded the ultimate qualifying session of the 2024 Formulation 1 season for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix by securing third place with Carlos Sainz and final place with the penalized Charles Leclerc.
The Spaniard was the one one to problem the 2 McLarens and, if not for a mistake on the ultimate nook, may have positioned himself between the 2 MCL38s of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, complicating their race greater than it’d now with the present grid.
Charles Leclerc, nevertheless, had his finest Q2 lap time deleted and was eradicated, ending in 14th place. A ten-place grid penalty for introducing his third battery pack of the season did the remainder: tomorrow, the Monegasque will begin final, making a comeback to combat for the Constructors’ Championship—absent from Maranello since 2008—virtually not possible.
After the official periods at Yas Marina, Ferrari’s group principal Frédéric Vasseur spoke to *Sky Sport Italia*, discussing the result of the ultimate qualifying session of the yr and outlining Ferrari’s method for tomorrow’s race.
How is the ambiance within the Ferrari storage after qualifying at Yas Marina?
“There’s a distinct temper on the 2 sides of the storage. Carlos had a superb qualifying session, preventing for first place on the finish of Q3 and lacking the entrance row attributable to a really small mistake on the final nook. Nevertheless it doesn’t matter; we’ll combat. Beginning second or third doesn’t change a lot—we’ll combat till the final nook. With Leclerc, the scenario is completely different. Earlier than the session, we knew the best-case situation was ranging from eleventh, however then he went barely extensive at Flip 1 in Q2, and that’s the way it went.”
Will you modify Charles Leclerc’s engine earlier than the race?
“Truthfully, I don’t assume there’s a major benefit in altering the engine—a minimum of, not sufficient to justify placing in a brand new one.”
You’ll be hoping for a chaotic race, whereas McLaren will desire a simple one…
“Sure, that’s true. We’ll race in opposition to McLaren with Carlos the identical approach we’ve got to date. However we gained’t do something drastically completely different simply because it’s the final race of the season. Perhaps with Charles, we’ll think about a distinct technique to keep away from getting caught within the midfield visitors.”
Does beginning third as an alternative of second change a lot?
“Perhaps there’s a slight distinction in grip on the suitable facet in comparison with the left facet of the grid. However as I mentioned, there’s not an enormous distinction between the 2 positions. What’s essential is the place we’re after the primary nook and the top of the primary lap.”
Tomorrow, attaining your objective will probably be very tough…
“Even earlier than coming to Abu Dhabi, it was already very tough on paper. After the penalty, it’s develop into extraordinarily tough. Nonetheless, it’s not not possible as a result of we will’t predict what is going to occur. We’ll combat till the final nook of the final lap and don’t have any regrets.”
At this level, are you able to afford to take extra dangers?
“Sure and no, as a result of crucial factor remains to be to attain sufficient factors to develop into champions. We will’t take too many dangers as a result of we by no means know what may occur with McLaren. To this point, they haven’t had any retirements or incidents. You’ll be able to by no means know. We want to verify we rating sufficient factors to develop into champions, after which we’ll see.”
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