Carlos Sainz will start the Abu Dhabi GP race – his final with Scuderia Ferrari – from the second row, behind McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. However, while the Spaniard acknowledged that McLaren had been the stronger team, throughout the weekend, he promised to “give it everything” to take a final win with the Italian team. He claimed that Ferrari had made “some good progress” throughout the weekend which had improved their chances against McLaren.
“Yeah, I think we’ve made some good progress through the weekend.”
“I think McLaren have showed all weekend that they’re a bit of a step ahead compared to everyone, really. And we were just there behind, two, three tenths off. When it came to Q1 and Q2, it looked like we were getting a bit closer. I put together some really good laps in Q1 and Q2, but then in Q3 when they put everything together, they still had this little advantage over us.”
“Anyway, still a race to do tomorrow, and we will give it everything to see if we can win that race and give ourselves the best chance.”
Sainz found the limit of the car early in Abu Dhabi GP qualifying session
While speaking with the media during the FIA post-qualifying press conference, Sainz said that he hypothesised that he had found the limit of his SF-24 early in the session. He claimed that he had done “very good” laps in Q1 and Q2, but acknowledged that by Q3, the MCL38 outperformed the SF-24.He added that he hoped that the team would improve their understanding of their SF-24 to improve “get in the fight” during the race.
“Yeah, I felt like I did some very good, very clean laps in Q1 and Q2, probably finding the limit of the car very early on in qualifying and then giving myself and giving maybe the team a bit of hope that we could fight for pole position.”
“But I think as soon as these two guys started putting, I think, a good lap together in Q3… I think my lap was pretty good.”
“Obviously, there’s always little things here and there that you would like to change. But when Lando talks about that he didn’t quite nail Turn 9 or he did a small mistake, then you realise that it’s the same for everyone.”
“And, you know, we’ve been a weekend three to four-tenths behind. I’ll take being two-tenths off in quali and hopefully, we can match their race pace and get in the fight tomorrow.”
Ferrari “should have done [their] homework earlier” – Sainz
McLaren’s better pace at the Abu Dhabi GP did not surprise Sainz. He explained that the MCL38 suited the Yas Marina layout better. Although Ferrari was at a disadvantage, he admitted the team should have prepared better for the conditions. He noted that McLaren had also had the better car in Qatar.
“I think realistically, once you look in detail the layout of the track, I think I kind of understand that they are a bit quicker.”
“If all the track was long straights and Turn 6 and 7s, then I think we would be flying around here. But unfortunately, we have Turn 1, we have Turn 9, where the McLaren is a clear step ahead of us, like we saw in Qatar.”
“And yeah, they’re simply a better package for this circuit. It’s unfortunate, you know, that the last two races of the season, it’s come to tracks where maybe the McLaren is just that last tenth, two tenths quicker.”
“But at the same time, that’s how the season goes. And if that’s the case, we should have done our homework earlier.”
The battle in the Constructors’ Championship: McLaren versus Ferrari
Sainz was also asked about Ferrari’s chances in the 2024 World Constructor’s Championship. With one race left, Ferrari sits second with 619 points. As McLaren leads with 640 points, Ferrari must outscore them by at least 21 points.
This was already been a near-impossible task for the Italian team, which only managed a similar feat this year, during the United States Grand Prix. However, this task has been made significantly more difficult with Sainz’ teammate, Charles Leclerc consigned to a back-of-the-grid start, after an unfortunate Q2 exit from Saturday’s qualifying and a 10-place grid penalty handed down after Ferrari were forced to replace the energy store in his car. Ferrari will need an excellent drive from Sainz, a miraculous recovery from Leclerc, and misfortune to befall both McLaren drivers if they are to hope to take the title from the Woking-based team.
Championship fight “a bit of a mission impossible” – Sainz
While speaking during the post-qualifying press conference, Sainz described Ferrari’s championship fight as “a bit of a mission impossible”. He stated that their chances for the title had been poor even his teammate’s misfortune, but acknowledged that his teammate’s misfortune had further complicated matters.
“Yeah, I think it was already extremely difficult. It was, like I said, a bit of a mission impossible already before the weekend started.”
“Then we arrived to FP1 and Charles’ battery died before running and the grid penalty obviously was a huge shock, a huge blow. On top of that, you get the Q2 situation for Charles. It just makes things obviously a lot more difficult.”
“But at the same time, It is very likely that even in a perfect weekend where we both nail laps in Q3 and we even fight for the win, these two guys are still up there. So it was always going to be difficult. It’s just made our life even more difficult.”
However, Sainz claimed that “anything could happen” before the end of the Abu Dhabi GP race. He added that both he and his teammate would “keep fighting” until the end.
“But until the chequered flag comes down tomorrow, you know, anything can happen.”
“And I’m going to keep fighting for whatever comes. And I’m sure Charles from the back will push flat out to get every single point available and see what happens with the McLarens.”
“The moment you visit a Formula 1 factory, you understand why [the Constructors’ Championship] exists” – Sainz
Sainz also spoke about the importance of the Constructors’ Championship to Formula 1 teams. He described the championship as representing the work done behind-the-scenes, and claimed that the championship showed the importance of contributions by those who worked away from the track.
“I think every fan or every journalist or maybe every person that is not fully or doesn’t fully buy the Constructors’ Championship, the moment you visit a Formula 1 factory, you understand why it exists and why it’s so important.”
“Because when you visit a Formula 1 factory and you see more than a thousand people working for just us drivers to take the car and make it perform. We are just the last bit of the chain that there is behind all these teams and every single guy from the team counts in that difference and it’s the drivers’ job and team principal’s job and the main engineers’ job to make these people feel like it counts.”
“So every single one can make a hundredth of a difference in the team and those hundredths add up to the last tenth that maybe made McLaren quicker today and That is where all that last difference is and why it’s so important.”
Sainz claims that “the people” have levelled the playing field in F1
Sainz claimed that the contribution of individuals within the teams had become more important due to the cost-cap regulations which had created a more “level playing field” in the sport. He stated that the contributions of team members influenced the drivers’ ability to maximise their race performance.
“On top of that, I think Formula 1 is in a good space right now, with a level playing field between driver being important, but also the team. I think teams are given more equal opportunity to fight.”
“And it’s not only all about budget. It’s the people, it’s the infrastructure that you can have, that you can achieve.”
“And you can see it with McLaren, you can see it with the top four teams right now, we are all within a couple of tenths of one another, and it makes the Drivers’ Championship more fair because the driver can make more of a difference, but also the Constructors’ Championship more fair.”
The Spaniard added that it was “a pity” that the new regulations set to be introduced in 2026 would “reset” the sport, as he believed that Formula 1 had finally achieved a “level playing field.”
“And it’s a shame in a way that this is resetting in ‘26 because I feel like Formula 1 is for once in a very, very long time achieving a level playing field among all teams and all drivers to show who is the best team but who is also the best driver. And yeah, I think that’s it’s a bit of a pity.”
Sainz “too focused” on Abu Dhabi GP race to be emotional over Ferrari exit
While Sainz admitted that he wanted to enjoy his final race with Ferrari “as much as possible”, he stated that he would give his everything to win the Abu Dhabi GP. He claimed that he had “nothing to lose” and would do what he could to maximise his chances for the race win, especially as he did not see himself fighting for a win or podium finish during the early stages of his upcoming stint with Williams Racing.
“Well, I’m going to give it everything.”
“You know, already today, I was pushing in qualifying like never before, because I wanted the pole position, and I wanted to give myself a good chance for tomorrow, as it might be my last battle for a win or for a podium in a while.”
“But at the same time, yeah, enjoying as much as possible this last weekend, pushing flat out, and tomorrow, nothing to lose, so we will go for it.”
Ferrari capable of more than P3 – Sainz
However, Sainz was dissatisfied with his P3 starting position for the race. He stated that Ferrari knew that they had been “capable of more”, and had, as pointed out by McLaren’s Lando Norris, “a bit less to lose.”
“No, I wouldn’t sign up for a P3 because I know we’re capable of more and as Lando said, I also have a bit less to lose tomorrow.”
He added that the team would need to work harder during the race to maximise their result.
“We know we need to do more than what we did today and we’re going to go for it tomorrow, because, one, we need it for the Constructors’.”
“If we want to have a shot at winning, we need to win tomorrow and one of the McLarens to have an issue and Charles to get back in the points.”
Sainz also said that he wanted to “leave the weekend with no regrets” and while acknowledged that he had put himself in a “good position” for the race, he added that he intended to push for the win.
“And two, I also want to win. This might be my last chance at winning in a few years and my last chance of being on a podium for a few years.”
“And I want to make sure I leave the weekend with no regrets and with never feeling that I could have, yeah, not given myself that chance. So, yeah, I feel like I’ve put myself in a good position for tomorrow. But yeah, tomorrow we go again.”
“There’s so much at stake” – Sainz
With so much at stake for the Italian team, and Sainz himself, the driver admitted that he had not been able to be “very emotional” over his imminent exit from the team. He stated that he was too focused on the race, but acknowledged that he wanted to “make the most” out of his last race with Ferrari.
“If I’m very honest with you, I have not been very emotional this weekend just because the level of focus is so high and there’s so much at stake, with the opportunity to win and to fight for the Constructors’ that I don’t really get any time to really think about it and let it sink in.”
“I’m pretty sure tomorrow before the race or after the race, it will start to hit. But at the same time, yeah, I’m just going to make the most out of it and keep enjoying these last few races like I’ve been doing up until now, driving well and, yeah, enjoying it.”
“Tomorrow I will for sure” – Sainz expects emotions to hit after Abu Dhabi GP race
When asked how he expected to feel on his final race day with Ferrari, Sainz replied, “Yeah, I don’t know how it’s going to feel.”
He explained that while he had gotten emotional over “the little details” that Ferrari had put in as tribute, and was proud to have races with the team, he had been too focused on the weekend ahead.
“I can only tell you how it feels up until now and I can tell you the level of focus of the whole team and my level of focus has been so high to try and execute a perfect weekend and try to win the race tomorrow and try to be on pole today, that honestly I haven’t had much time to be emotional, apart from obviously little details that the team is doing so far to make me feel at home and feel proud of this last race with the team.”
However, Sainz admitted that he expected the emotions to “hit” after the Abu Dhabi GP race, when his exit “will start to sink in.”
“But at the same time, I’m pretty sure tomorrow before the race or after the race, it will start to sink in. It will start to hit me a bit and it will get emotional. But the truth is that up until now, I’ve had no time for that.”
“We’re all so focused and we all want that constructors or that last win together. You know that you have no time to get too emotional, but tomorrow I will for sure.”
