After the masterpiece in Las Vegas, Charles Leclerc manages to secure the fifth position in the drivers’ championship with another stunning performance in the Abu Dhabi GP. The Monegasque driver, on a historically challenging track for Scuderia Ferrari, maintained his starting position, crossing the finish line just behind the usual Max Verstappen. However, it wasn’t enough to allow Ferrari to surpass Mercedes in the constructors’ standings, given the dubious penalty incurred by Perez at the end.
Charles Leclerc’s team radio in Italian at the end of the Abu Dhabi GP:
“Thank you all,” Charles opened up over the radio in Italian after crossing the finish line. “Thanks to the guys on the track and also to all the fans who support us no matter what situation we are in. Next year we will definitely come back stronger.”
“We did an incredible job, doing everything right, strategy, and qualifying. It’s a shame we finished third in the Constructors’. It’s the only thing that matters to me at the end of the season, and we didn’t make it.”
“I would like to thank the team for the incredible work done and for working so hard since the first race. We knew it would be an uphill season because we lacked the performance compared to what we wanted, but the team did an incredible job, pushing until the last race.”
After thrilling fans with a last-lap overtaking maneuver in the Las Vegas GP, Charles Leclerc switched to strategist mode in the final stages of the Abu Dhabi race, trying to put as many seconds as possible between Sergio Perez and George Russell after the Mexican received a dubious penalty for contact with Lando Norris.
Every attempt by car number 16, however, proved futile, with Mercedes managing to finish the season in second place in the constructors’ championship. Charles can take solace in the fifth position in the drivers’ championship, tied on points with Fernando Alonso, having taken advantage of his teammate’s terrible race, who finished outside the points.
Speaking about the strategy at the end, Charles Leclerc commented after the race: “Everything happened in the last minutes because Checo had a five-second penalty. So we had to help him so that he could finish five seconds ahead of George. I tried to give him DRS and a tow. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.
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“On one hand, I’m very happy because in a weekend like this, honestly, there wasn’t one thing we could have done better as a team. I believe it wasn’t a given that we were the second-fastest car of the weekend.”
The Battle in the First Lap with Verstappen:
Thanks to an excellent start, the Monegasque driver tried to bother Verstappen in turn 1 and then by braking at the end of the long straight after the turn. On both occasions, however, the Dutchman managed to defend brilliantly, closing every possible gap.
“Obviously, I wanted to try to get first place, but we also know that in the race, we lack a bit of pace compared to them,” commented Charles Leclerc.
“So, even if I had passed Max at that point, I probably would have been overtaken again in three or four laps. In the end, my only goal was to beat Mercedes.”
In reality, number 16 held his ground throughout the first stint of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with the medium tires, always staying within DRS range with Max. However, the gap widened once they switched to the hard tires, with Verstappen seizing the nineteenth victory of the season.
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