There is no need for recrimination for Scuderia Ferrari HP after last weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina circuit. Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc and the whole team produced the best race possible to finish second and third behind Lando Norris in the McLaren, the English team thus securing the Constructors’ title by just 14 points – 666 to 652. This is the smallest winning margin in the Constructors' since the race winner has been awarded 25 points (2010). Carlos drove a great race, always putting Norris under pressure, although no mistakes were forthcoming from the Englishman. Charles got the perfect start and then produced a memorable opening lap which later combined with a perfectly executed strategy and pit stop saw him make up a total of 16 places to make it to the podium for the 13th time this year, the 22nd for the team.

The race. Carlos had quite a lonely race. At the start, he made the most of the collision between Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen to move up to second. After that, he basically matched Norris’ pace, trying to put him under pressure during the first stint on Medium tyres and again at the start of the second part on the Hards, without his second place ever coming under threat. Charles’ race was a different matter altogether. He started from 19th on the grid on Medium tyres and by the end of the opening lap he was already eighth, making the most of incidents, but also pulling off six overtaking moves. He was moving through the field at the rate of around one place per lap until he was fourth behind George Russell, who was quick on the straights. At this point, the pitwall crew reacted quickly and as soon as there was enough of a gap so that he could emerge ahead of the group of slower cars behind, he was called in to change tyres. This meant Charles was then able to undercut the Mercedes. When Lewis Hamilton pitted, the Monegasque moved up to third, a position he held comfortably to the chequered flag.

Testing and then a break. Scuderia Ferrari HP has thus finished second in the Constructors’ classification, with Charles and Carlos third and fifth respectively in the Drivers’ as was the case in 2021 and 2022. The Spaniard’s time at Maranello now comes to an end, with four wins, six pole positions, 25 podiums and 900.5 points. For Carlos, 2025 starts on Tuesday when he will take part in the end of season test for Williams. Charles will be at the wheel of his SF-24, while Antonio Fuoco and Arthur Leclerc will drive the other car. Tuesday night therefore marks the end of track action for the season. It was great to fight for the title to the very last race, and for next year the determination is there to do even better.