With a deadly one-two, McLaren places a severe maintain on the Constructors’ Championship. The Abu Dhabi qualifying periods verify the state of grace of the Woking workforce, appreciated all through the weekend, softening the remorse for surprising points at Ferrari. The Scuderia seems reinvigorated by the last-minute changes to the setup, although it’s clear that bringing the championship again to Maranello would require a feat. Higher hope lies with Haas, who, with the extraordinary Nico Hulkenberg, goals to reclaim sixth place within the championship.
In Abu Dhabi, each title contenders choose for the same setup technique, specializing in a excessive degree of aerodynamic downforce to warmth the tires shortly and restrict their slip, paying the value of being the slowest within the pace traps on the finish of the straight. Nonetheless, the method pays off for each groups, particularly for Woking. Not like Ferrari, McLaren manages to make the distinction within the technical third sector, gaining not less than two-tenths on all the competitors.
The ultimate sector of Abu Dhabi is characterised by a sequence of brief, medium-low pace corners, harking back to these road circuits that favor nook exit traction. It’s no coincidence that on this part McLaren shows a dominance much like what was seen in Singapore and Zandvoort. In the case of controlling rear tire overheating, the MCL38 proves to be one of the best automobile, a energy that secures a stronghold on the Abu Dhabi victory, together with the Constructors’ title. “When there are medium-speed corners, it looks like we’re one of the best automobile,” confirms Andrea Stella. The effectiveness within the third sector lays one of the best groundwork for tire administration in the course of the race, with McLaren aiming to keep up the lead within the first half earlier than pulling away after the pit cease, when the MCL38 turns into extra aggressive with an empty gasoline tank.
“I consider in miracles,” says Charles Leclerc in entrance of the journalists within the paddock. In truth, at this level, a supernatural intervention could be wanted to permit Ferrari to regain the Constructors’ Championship. Nonetheless, there’s excellent news for the Scuderia, having regained competitiveness after a tough trio of free apply periods. “We modified the automobile fairly a bit from FP3, and I believe we went in the appropriate route,” says the Monegasque driver. In qualifying, Ferrari succeeds the place it had struggled as much as that time, attacking the time with tires prepared from the beginning and matching McLaren’s instances within the first sector.
General, the SF-24 seems way more balanced than in the beginning of the weekend, with Carlos Sainz coming simply 9 thousandths behind Oscar Piastri in second. It’s recognized that Ferrari is extra aggressive within the race than in qualifying, however the long-term tempo stays an unknown after the poor outcomes on Friday with the earlier setup configuration. Carlos Sainz can have the daunting job of defeating the 2 McLarens, whereas a comeback from the again for Leclerc appears much more unlikely, particularly now probably with a totally new energy unit. If vital, Maranello will work in a single day to good essentially the most aggressive engine mapping doable, in an try to make that miracle occur by which the Scuderia continues to consider.
Max Verstappen will begin from fourth place, reflecting on the constraints of the RB20 uncovered by the Abu Dhabi monitor: “We all know we’re good in medium and high-speed corners, however right here there are some which might be extra medium-low pace. This has all the time been a little bit of our weak spot.” But, the world champion exhibits first-row potential however misses out on the ultimate decisive lap.
Crimson Bull deserves credit score for fixing the understeering points from Friday. Nonetheless, in qualifying, Verstappen complains a couple of steadiness that evolves via the varied phases of nook entry, mid-corner, and exit. The Dutch driver doesn’t miss the chance to set the event agenda for 2025: “We all know that if we remedy our issues, we’d discover a variety of time per lap. It must be performed as a result of the steadiness oscillations make it very tough to discover a good compromise with the instruments we now have within the automobile. We have to work on this for subsequent yr.” The final qualifying of the season is the proper image of Crimson Bull on the finish of the yr: a automobile as soon as once more aggressive and preventing for prime positions, however nonetheless removed from perfection and beatable.
After the thrill of Las Vegas and Qatar, the Silver Arrows return to the again of the grid. Lewis Hamilton, eradicated in Q1, suffers from the influence of a cone hit on the finish of the ultimate sector, in addition to a preparation lap closely hindered by visitors. George Russell, however, advances to Q3 however solely manages seventh place. Not like earlier occasions, the Yas Marina circuit and temperatures don’t spotlight Mercedes’ strengths, with the workforce’s weekend preparations influenced by experiments on the setup to enhance their understanding of floor impact for 2025.
“We tried some fairly drastic issues with the automobile,” confirms Russell. “In the previous couple of weekends, there have been a variety of Dash races, so we nearly acquired into the mentality that this was a check weekend for us. Rather a lot was performed on the automobile, and we tried quite a few issues, and I believe perhaps we acquired misplaced.” The workforce is now making ready for a remaining race that’s unlikely to convey a lot pleasure, aiming to shut out 2024 and give attention to the brand new season as quickly as doable.
At the back of the grid, the opposite world battle unfolds, this one for sixth place. The penalty drops Haas’ Hulkenberg to seventh, however the potential proven all through the weekend suggests an attacking race. “The traits of this monitor swimsuit our automobile. An excellent a part of our growth has centered on medium-speed corners, and there are numerous of these right here,” displays the German. The objective can be to recuperate 6 factors on Alpine, which struggled all through the weekend earlier than regaining competitiveness on the final minute, with Gasly ranging from the third row. Simply behind, Valtteri Bottas will begin, managing the feat of qualifying the Sauber into Q3, confirming its progress. The longer term Audi workforce arrives on the final race with new updates to the ground, which may even be evaluated in the course of the Tuesday exams forward of 2025. Nonetheless, Binotto has been clear: the objective can be to win by 2030.
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