Charles Leclerc admitted he was positively surprised by how competitive his Ferrari SF-25 was at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, even coming close to matching the pace of the McLarens during the race.
Ferrari rises unexpectedly
Who would have thought that the driver most capable of threatening Lando Norris for the podium—and potentially challenging for the World Championship—would be Charles Leclerc? Especially during the first stint, the Monegasque was able to stay extremely close to the McLaren of the newly crowned world champion, forcing the Woking team to adopt a “man-marking” strategy for Leclerc, while his other rivals Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri completed the race with a single pit stop. It was an unexpectedly strong performance from the SF-25, which also allowed Lewis Hamilton to climb from 16th on the grid, surprising even Leclerc himself.
Leclerc’s surprise
“No, I didn’t expect to be this fast,” Charles Leclerc said after the checkered flag to a group of journalists – “We managed to keep the same pace as the drivers ahead of us for several laps, and I did two pit stops to put a little more pressure on the McLaren and try something different. Of course, Lando copied me, so it wasn’t that exciting. Still, I think a one-stop strategy was the right choice, but we wanted to try something different, which was the correct decision considering I wouldn’t have passed Norris with the same tactic. Now I just want to take two weeks off and forget this very disappointing season.”
When pressed by journalists, Charles Leclerc declined to explain why the SF-25 was so competitive at Yas Marina: “I can’t explain it, but I think we understand the reason. In any case, there are no more races to test this, as this was the last GP of this regulation era and these cars, so it doesn’t really matter anymore.” He also defended the decision to pit on the same lap as Norris during the first stint: “I’m not sure an overcut would have allowed me to pass him, but we also had to protect ourselves from George Russell, who was pushing very hard. So I think pitting at that moment was the right decision. Verstappen? Yes, I expected Max to make some moves at the start or end of the race, but he didn’t do anything like that.” – the Monegasque driver pointed out at the end of the race.
Praise for champion Lando Norris
Charles Leclerc concluded by congratulating Lando Norris, who won his first F1 World Championship: “I think emotions are why I love our sport so much. And no matter how much you want to beat your rivals, seeing the happy face of someone, like we did today with Lando, is something beautiful. Again, what he experienced today is the ultimate dream for every one of us on this grid, and I’m very happy he achieved it. He deserves it, and now it’s my turn to keep chasing him and, hopefully, make his life more difficult next year.”
