As the final race week of the 2024 F1 season begins, Ferrari faces what Carlos Sainz Jr. has described as a “mission impossible” as it chases McLaren for the constructors' championship. McLaren hold a 21-point lead in this battle, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri both starting Sunday's final race of the season on the front row, so Ferrari will be in a special position to finish the season as constructors' champion. something was needed.
They almost got it done.
Contact between Piastri and Max Verstappen in the first turn of the race caused chaos on the opening lap, opening the door for Ferrari. Leclerc was in the lead. After a poor qualifying performance on Saturday, he started 19th, but this week's new Energy Store (ES) earned him a 10-second grid penalty, his third and one more of the season. That's more than the two allowed each season under the no-penalty rule. When the virtual safety car was introduced on the opening lap, Sainz was in second place behind Norris, Leclerc had moved up 11 places on the first lap and was already in the points, and Piastri was in last place when the match started.
Ferrari kept the pressure on as Leclerc moved up the grid thanks to an excellent first stint. By lap 12, Leclerc was up to fifth, and a few laps later when green flag pit stops began, Leclerc was up to fourth. As for Sainz, he slightly disappeared from the rear wing of Norris' MCL38 and was more than three seconds behind, but was still within striking distance of the race leader and in a position to take advantage if something happened to Norris.
Around the middle of the race, McLaren's next tense moment came. Ferrari introduced Leclerc on lap 20 and Sainz on lap 25 in an attempt to put pressure on the leading McLaren and Norris. McLaren sent a call to Norris to assist Ferrari on lap 26, and the pit crew responded, achieving an astonishing two-second flat stop. Sainz closed the gap, while Norris returned to the fray 1.5 seconds ahead of the Ferrari driver.
Norris increased his advantage with slightly new tires. By lap 44, his advantage over Sainz had grown to more than four seconds, and further back Leclerc was asking his team over the radio whether their position meant McLaren had secured the title.
“Yes, but it's not finished yet. Please keep pressing,” came the reply.
Ferrari pushed as hard as they could, but in the end it wasn't enough. Norris controlled the tires and managed to control the dirty air given to him when he encountered a lapped car to get to the checkered flag, clinching the title for McLaren.
Sainz finished second and Leclerc third in the final race for Ferrari, but two podiums were not enough on a day when Norris and McLaren were at the top.
“We did our best,” was Sainz's message to his team over the radio after the checkered flag.
“I knew I had to be very aggressive,” Leclerc said trackside after the race. “Unfortunately, we started too late to do anything better than what we did today.
“it hurts.”
Leclerc also spoke fondly of his current teammates, who will drive for Williams next season.
“Right now I'm thinking about the past year with Carlos and the last few years. We've had a great relationship and we've helped each other improve and we've enjoyed the last four years together with the constructors' title. I really hoped I could finish,” Leclerc said. “We both gave it our all.
“That wasn't enough.”
“It's a bit bittersweet,” Sainz said trackside. “First of all congratulations to McLaren. They deserve this championship… They were incredible.”
Ferrari certainly gave McLaren their all and almost succeeded in what Sainz called an “impossible mission”.
But on this day, Mission Impossible was just out of reach.
