Scuderia Ferrari’s Pursuit
The unattainable mission was not accomplished. Nevertheless, for a second, with the incident between Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri in flip 1 and Charles Leclerc’s highly effective restoration within the early laps, the thought of beating McLaren appeared rather less like a mirage. Thus, the frustration on Charles Leclerc’s face on the Abu Dhabi podium was additionally that of Frederic Vasseur, Ferrari’s group principal, who spoke to Sky microphones shortly after the checkered flag.
Fred Vasseur Speaks After the Abu Dhabi GP
“We’re all dissatisfied,” mentioned the French supervisor, “however we did the most effective we might. It was an excellent race by Charles and Carlos, and in the long run, we’re not very removed from McLaren, solely 14 factors behind (within the Constructors’ standings), however it wasn’t at present that we misplaced the championship. As a substitute, we’re glad with the work we’ve achieved and the enhancements all through the season, particularly with how we reacted once we had points. The ultimate result’s this; we got here very near profitable, so we’re a bit dissatisfied. I need to congratulate McLaren; I feel they did an distinctive job. We’re additionally on the identical pattern as a result of this 12 months we’ve achieved higher than final 12 months, preventing till the tip for the title. I’ve quite a lot of respect for them, for the corporate, for the drivers, and for the group, so I need to first congratulate them.”
Fred Vasseur’s Ranking for Ferrari
“We all know,” he added, “that we didn’t do an ideal job this season, that there’s nonetheless room for enchancment in each single facet. However I’m additionally very proud and pleased with the journey, particularly the previous few months. It’s a great begin for 2025 as effectively. My score for this season? It’s 6 or 7… I do know I’m a bit harsh, however there’s room for enchancment, and we have to keep motivated. I’ve seen the individuals within the group work collectively; we’ve had powerful moments in Canada, with the replace in Spain, and with incidents in Singapore and Baku, however every time we got here again stronger after the setbacks, and that is constructive for the long run.”
The Key Second of Ferrari’s Season
After the Abu Dhabi GP, Fred Vasseur pointed to the replace launched between the British and Austrian GPs as one of many key moments of the 2024 Components 1 season: “That’s once we realized the updates weren’t working effectively, and we modified the whole lot to attempt once more. Everybody was very open about it, there was no inside battle, and that’s a great signal. Tomorrow, I’ll be capable of say that it was a really constructive season, with 5 wins in comparison with one final 12 months and about 50 extra factors, however there’s clearly additionally the frustration of getting ended with greater than 600 factors however 14 behind McLaren, which is a really small margin. Hamilton? Right this moment, I wasn’t targeted on him, however he did an incredible job recovering and overtaking Russell on the finish. However we’ll give it some thought subsequent 12 months, I’m joyful as a result of we’ll have an incredible group of individuals working collectively.” – the French supervisor concluded on the finish of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.