2024 Formula 1 Qatar Grand Prix Highlights

Scuderia Ferrari HP heads to the season’s final round in Abu Dhabi next week to hunt for the Constructors’ World Championship title. On a track the team feared would not suit it, Charles Leclerc finished second in a race that saw little overtaking but plenty of high drama and tension. Carlos Sainz was unlucky, clawing his way back to sixth at the flag after suffering a half-distance puncture. The team therefore picked up 35 points this weekend – 26 today, 9 in yesterday’s Sprint bringing the gap to McLaren down from 24 to 21 points, while there are 44 up for grabs at Yas Marina. 

This is the first time since 2012 that Ferrari is in with a shot at the title in the very last round. The team was fully focused on today’s race and was able to deal with moments of great difficulty. Carlos did a great job on track, completing a full lap with one wheel dragging on the ground, trying to lose as little time as possible. As for Charles, at every restart, he had to fend off the attentions of Piastri, who was more able to get his tyres up to temperature.

Carlos Sainz #55

I’m obviously not happy with the outcome of today’s race. We were in a strong position, but unfortunately, I got a puncture and had to complete an entire lap with a flat tyre. After the pit stop, the Safety Car came out, so the whole situation cost us even more time and, ultimately, some crucial positions. Dragging the car for an entire lap led to some damage, and the car felt a bit off, making things difficult for the last stint. That said, I’m pleased I managed to bring the car home, and together with Charles’ podium, we scored important points. We will fight until the last lap of the Abu Dhabi race for the championship and hopefully finish the season in the best way possible.

Charles Leclerc #16

We expected this to be a difficult weekend for us, so I’m happy with how the race went today, having made up some points on McLaren. We had some luck on my side and a bit less on Carlos’s with the puncture. We may have been able to finish second and third had it not been for that, which is a shame teamwise, but overall, it was positive to be this competitive here. Driving for such an iconic team as Ferrari, it would be fantastic for us to finish the season by bringing the constructors’ title back to Maranello. It won’t be easy to score the points we need to win the title in a single weekend, but everything is still possible, and we will do absolutely everything to achieve it.

Frédéric Vasseur – Team Principal

The most important thing today is that we scored more points than McLaren. We are now 21 points behind, with one race to go, which means everything is possible. We have also increased our lead over Red Bull, which means that in Abu Dhabi, we can focus more on the team in front of us. The race today was a bit chaotic, but overall, it was a good one for us: we executed it well, the pace was great, and I’m delighted with the job we did today. It was in our plan that the drivers would not push too hard for the first laps in order to push more later on, and we were confident we had the pace on the Hard to push until the end. We have some regrets, such as Carlos’ puncture, which came at the worst place, as he had to drive a full lap before pitting, which cost us one or two positions. Now we go to Abu Dhabi, which, on paper, should be a better circuit for us. With Max and Mercedes at the pace, you never know what could happen in the championship battle. We will push flat out to the final chequered flag.

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