Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, the two drivers for the Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 team, are preparing to close the gap in the Constructors’ Championship during the last two grands prix and Qatar’s lone Sprint Race. Following the Las Vegas GP, Ferrari was just 24 points behind McLaren in the fight…
McLaren took the lead from Red Bull following the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in September, to the excitement of fans. But Ferrari had a successful couple of races, with Leclerc and Sainz taking the top step of the podium at the United States GP and Mexican GP respectively. This resulted in the Prancing Horses overtaking Red Bull to claim P2.
Fans hoped that Australian McLaren driver, Oscar Piastri, won the race down the Vegas Strip but he will now have to try his luck in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Betting sites in Australia have given the young driver good odds to place in the top three, however, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen is currently the favourite to at least win one of the final races (+225) with McLaren’s Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc are second favourites (+250), followed by Sainz (+600) and then Piastri (+1000).
There’s rising excitement in the paddock that Ferrari will overtake McLaren in the final two races to win the title for the first time since 1998, but the Ferrari drivers have spoken out to dampen fans’ expectations ahead of Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
When asked about the mood at Ferrari, Leclerc said, “Everybody’s very calm and this is a really good thing. I think it wasn’t like that a year or two years ago. The feeling was very, very different. We would get very excited or be affected a bit more by what was going on. Now it’s not the case anymore.”
Leclerc attributed this level-headedness of the team to Team Principle Fred Vasseur, who has encouraged the team to take it step-by-step and tackle one issue at a time. “We’ve got a race to win this weekend and we’ll try to do the best we can to achieve that,” Leclerc said.
Sainz, however, is showing a bit more excitement as this weekend draws nearer, although he also has his doubts. The night races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi are set to have colder temperatures, which will be a deciding factor in the race’s outcome as drivers struggle to bring the tyres up to temperature. However, he is hopeful about Ferrari’s competitiveness.
“Yes, Ferrari should be competitive, or at least in the mix. When you feel the temperatures and you know how much we struggle sometimes switching on the tyres this year and everything else, then definitely not. So there are two factors—we’ll see how they clash with each other and who performs better this weekend,” says Sainz.
When asked about Ferrari’s chances of overtaking McLaren for the title, he said that he is certain they’re within reach, but that the McLaren drivers will have to make a couple of mistakes. “If they don’t put a foot wrong… it doesn’t matter if we win and come second every race, I think McLaren can probably still hang on to it.”
And see we will, as the excitement of Qatar and Abu Dhabi is set for the nights of December 1st and 8th. Ferrari finishing first in the Constructor standings will be a major milestone for Sainz, who is set to leave the team and join Williams for the 2025 season.
