It was a battle misplaced from the beginning, a foreseen defeat that, nearly magically, was a bitter blow, leaving Ferrari followers and everybody hoping to see the Prancing Horse again on prime of the world deeply regretful.
The championship drought continues
That is how the 2024 Abu Dhabi GP, the ultimate act of an exhilarating season crammed with fixed twists and turns, might be summarized. The title battle lastly introduced again two of essentially the most storied groups on this planet to their peak, a stage they hadn’t reached in years—16 years for Ferrari and an astounding 26 for McLaren.
And but, regardless of every thing, the defeated can really feel (nearly) as happy and glad because the victors.
Elevate your hand if, on the eve of the Bahrain GP, you imagined—and even thought of—the opportunity of seeing Crimson Bull dethroned so early, the crew that had turned Method 1 into Method Boredom over the previous two seasons.
Elevate your hand if, after Lando Norris’s dominant victory in Singapore (and Charles Leclerc’s qualifying catastrophe), you thought Ferrari’s SF-24 may maintain its floor till the final lap towards the papaya duo, who, regardless of some missteps throughout the season, wielded a real rocket within the MCL-38.
But Frederic Vasseur, in his first actual yr as crew principal with a undertaking and crew fully formed to his imaginative and prescient, managed to ship a dream. A dream that, with the assistance of Lewis Hamilton, may turn out to be actuality in 12 months.
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, typically criticized (for causes unknown), delivered performances at Yas Marina that confirmed their standing as distinctive drivers. It’s additional proof that Maranello now “simply” wants to supply its drivers with a championship-caliber automobile and proceed the outstanding progress proven this yr.
McLaren’s triumph additionally carries a chunk of Ferrari. This refers, after all, to Andrea Stella, who, after the bitter disappointment 14 years in the past alongside Fernando Alonso, redeemed himself spectacularly, handing one other painful Sunday to his former crew.
Nonetheless, 2025 may convey a brand new tune, with hopes that this newest championship disappointment transforms into fierce willpower for Maranello, whose personnel know they can not afford one other failure.
“Ferrari will win subsequent yr,” declared Carlos Sainz with out hesitation after the race, his last one in crimson. Carlos Sainz, who performed a big position within the resurgence of the 2 title contenders for 2024, will doubtless watch the rostrum battles from afar subsequent season.
“Subsequent yr will likely be our yr, I’m certain of it,” echoed Charles Leclerc, as if his gaze exchanged with Hamilton after the race already held that means—maybe a premonition.
The 2025 season, the final yr of the ground-effect automobile technology, will doubtless be much more intense and aggressive than this yr.
Each crew, together with Ferrari, Crimson Bull, and Mercedes, will goal to dethrone McLaren and reclaim the crown. The season has simply ended, the adrenaline is fading, however the perfect is but to come back.
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