Charles Leclerc said he “believes in miracles” despite a 19th-placed starting spot for the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix dashing Ferrari’s title aspirations.
The miracle that Leclerc and Ferrari need to pull off in Abu Dhabi is overcoming a 21-point deficit to McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship.
However, with McLaren locking out the front row and Carlos Sainz third, Ferrari is facing a nigh-on impossible task.
A track limits violation in Q2 coupled with a 10-place grid penalty has landed Leclerc on the back row of the grid for Sunday’s race and the Monegasque driver is psyching himself up to produce a “special” race.
Asked if Ferrari needs a miracle to win the Constructors’ title, Leclerc replied “I believe in miracles,” before admitting qualifying “makes our life very difficult, that’s for sure.
“But with the 10-place grid penalty it was always going to be difficult.
“I see an opportunity to do something very special and I’ll do my best to do it. I’ll believe in it until the very last lap. Anything can happen.”
Ferrari ‘not making life easier’ admits Charles Leclerc
Leclerc’s face in adversity is commendable, for his heart is still strongly set on achieving mission impossible for Ferrari.
Going wide at Turn 1 was the difference between making the top-10 shootout and an early Q2 exit and Leclerc admitted the error was hard to judge.
“It’s obviously very difficult,” he said. “But it’s very difficult for everybody and I was on the wrong side of things in Q2 so I can only blame myself.”
Leclerc doesn’t think he could have beaten the two McLarens to the front row of the grid, saying “they seemed too strong.”
However, the Ferrari driver added, “we could have been fourth.
“It was either P15 or P20 and P15 is better than P20. But if I get my laptime deleted it means we start from P20.
“We are not making our life any easier. However, it motivates me to do something very special tomorrow.
“My goal remains the same: it’s to win the Constructors’ Championship and I still believe in it as much as I did yesterday, even though on paper obviously it’s going to be hard.”
To do that, Ferrari needs a strong car in race conditions and Leclerc said that “the race pace was OK, but McLaren seemed to be a lot stronger.
“We’ve changed the car quite a bit since FP3. I think we went in the right direction. If anything our tyre degradation is better than others, so I would expect to be in a better position.”
READ MORE – Charles Leclerc: Ferrari has to target perfection in Abu Dhabi to win F1 title
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