While the Formula 1 driver championship was decided two weeks ago at the Las Vegas Grand Prix when Max Verstappen secured his fourth consecutive crown, the constructors’ title is still up for grabs between McLaren and Ferrari.
Following Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix, McLaren holds a slim 21-point advantage over Ferrari after McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris finished third and 10th, respectively.
Ferrari, meanwhile, saw Charles Leclerc finish second, while his teammate, Carlos Sainz, recovered from a flat tire to finish sixth.
McLaren was unable to lock up the title after entering the event 24 markers ahead of Ferrari. However, Piastri is confident in the team’s ability to do so in F-1’s finale, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
“Obviously, not (an) ideal team result,” Piastri began. “But I would still rather be in our position than Ferrari. So, it’s gonna go down to the wire obviously. But let’s remain positive and I think we’ve still got a very good chance.”
After his runner-up result, Leclerc stated that while the team remained hopeful on its chances of closing the gap to McLaren this weekend, they weren’t sure how the results would stack up initially.
“I’m very happy,” Leclerc began. “I’m very happy because on paper it was going to be a very difficult weekend. I think we never said it within the team to each other, but I think everybody expected to lose points against McLaren on a weekend like that.
“We are going back home with less points in between McLaren and ourselves than when we came here. So, it’s very, very positive. I’m very happy. I don’t think we were the fastest car. I think we struggled a little bit as expected,” Leclerc continued.
“But, we did everything perfect. We did not do any mistakes and I’m happy.”
