WATCH: Charles Leclerc visibly distraught after missing out on the 2024 F1 constructor’s championship by the barest of margins
Despite Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz's best efforts at the Abu Dhabi GP, McLaren was crowned as the 2024 constructor's champions. The Monegasque driver gave it his all in the final race of the season and was shattered after the race ended as Ferrari missed out on the championship by a whisker.
Ferrari were 21 points away from McLaren going into the Abu Dhabi GP. After the race at the Yas Marina circuit, the Scuderia finished just 14 points behind Ferrari. Leclerc and Sainz finished off the podium, but it wasn't enough to win the championship. A frustrated Charles Leclerc came onto the radio comms after the race and said:
“I don't even know what to say. I don't know what to say”.
The 27-year-old then banged the steering wheel multiple times in frustration. He then rested his hand on top of the steering as his shoulders dropped. His engineer tried to console him as he replied, “Thank you, Charles. What a race. Charles, you couldn't have done anything more today. This was a special race.” The response was followed by even more steering wheel banging by Leclerc.
The slim chances became even slimmer for the Scuderia after the qualifying. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri qualified on the front row for the 2024 Abu Dhabi GP. Sainz started P3 and Leclerc was all the way back in P19 after a deleted lap time in Q2 and 10 10-place grid drop for taking the extra power unit component.
A messy start including the Max Verstappen - Oscar Piastri crash gave Ferrari some hope as the Aussie was sent to the back of the grid in the aftermath of the same. Sainz was now immediately behind Norris. The big surprise however was Charles Leclerc making up 11 positions on the opening lap as he racked up the points.
He kept making his way up the grid and Ferrari’s bold strategy paid off as he finished P3. The Scuderia performed well but Norris was in a different league out in front. The Briton won the race and killed Ferrari's championship dream.
“We've done the maximum”: Charles Leclerc reflects on the 2024 Abu Dhabi GP
The Ferrari driver revealed that he had planned to take a risk on Lap 1 in an effort to quickly climb the grid. Despite finishing on the podium, Charles Leclerc was spotted standing by himself after the race as he tried to comprehend Ferrari missing out on the championship. The Monegasque driver explained how he gave it his all, but it wasn't enough.
Charles Leclerc said (via Formula1.com):
“I knew that on Lap 1 I had to take all the risk possible to gain as many places as possible, to then be in a good position for the rest of the race. This was achieved but unfortunately we were just starting too far back to do anything better than what we’ve done today. I think we’ve done the maximum."
“It hurts obviously, because when the season is so close until the end, it was a hard hit on Friday when we knew we had the penalty. We still gave it all and just came short of our goal which is a shame, but in the end we’ve tried everything,” he added.
If Sainz had managed to get ahead of Norris, the two teams would have ended on the same points. However, McLaren would have still won it based on their higher number of race wins. Leclerc will however have some positives to take into the next season as he maintained a clean slate in terms of penalty points this year.