Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: Leclerc goes from 19th to 3rd place

Charles Leclerc achieved an exceptional performance during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, climbing from 19th place on the grid to the podium. Despite this impressive demonstration, it was not enough to allow Ferrari to clinch the constructors’ title against McLaren.

From the first lap, Leclerc showed his intentions by taking advantage of the chaos involving Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri to gain several positions. His progression was rapid as the Monegasque driver was already in 8th position after a few laps. His comeback continued with a series of overtakes, notably on Kevin Magnussen, Fernando Alonso, and Nico Hülkenberg.

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After arrival, Charles Leclerc said: “I knew I had to be very aggressive, so on the first lap, I took all possible risks to gain as many positions as possible and be in a good position for the rest of the race. Unfortunately, we started too far back to do better than what we did. I think we did our best. It hurts when a season is so close right until the end.”

Leclerc did not hide his disappointment regarding the constructor’s championship. Ferrari’s chances of fighting against McLaren were seriously compromised when he received a 10-place grid penalty following a battery change during Friday’s free practice. He declared on the subject: « It was a tough blow on Friday and we gave it our all, but we are just a bit short of our goal. It’s a shame but we gave everything. »

Despite this very good result, the driver of car number 16 was quite disappointed at the finish. The disappointment is there. Despite the incredible race, the first lap was superb, the risks we took paid off. We had to perform a mini-miracle, but it wasn’t enough. We lose the constructors’ championship in the final race. That’s the result of the 24 races. We haven’t been better than McLaren. It hurts.

The Monegasque also mentioned his future teammate Lewis Hamilton and the departure of his current teammate Carlos Sainz, after four years of partnership: « Lewis has achieved so much in this sport and it will be a great motivation. For now, however, I am thinking about the years gone by and the years I spent with Carlos. We had an incredible relationship. We pushed each other. I really hoped we could finish these four years with the constructors’ championship. »

Evoking the prospects for the next season, Charles Leclerc gave a mixed review of the past season. While Ferrari was far from the pace in the battle for the constructors’ title at the beginning of the season, it managed to turn things around quite impressively. He attributed this progress to both the excellent work of the technical team and the strong complementarity developed with his teammate Carlos Sainz. With this promising end to the season, the Monegasque driver expressed his optimism for 2025, hoping to capitalize on this positive momentum from the first Grand Prix races.