McLaren boss ‘would not be surprised’ if Charles Leclerc does one thing after Abu Dhabi Grand Prix penalty

Ferrari have suffered a big blow in their hopes of denying McLaren the constructors’ title at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as Charles Leclerc received a 10-place grid penalty.

The Maranello and Woking squads are both striving to end lengthy droughts for teams’ titles at the season finale. Ferrari last won the constructors’ championship in 2008 with their 16th crown. You have to go all the way back to 1998 for McLaren’s most recent constructors’ title.

McLaren were the top-scoring team in 2007, but were excluded from the standings owing to the Spygate saga that engulfed their fight with Ferrari during that season. Now, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri can bring a ninth championship yet back to Woking after the Abu Dhabi GP.

McLaren boss Andrea Stella backs Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to recover from Abu Dhabi GP grid penalty

Ferrari face a hard task to take the teams’ title in the Abu Dhabi GP, as they trail McLaren by 21 points. It is a two-horse race in the constructors’ championship between their pairings of Leclerc and Carlos Sainz against Norris plus Piastri, with Red Bull’s defence of their title over.

The challenge facing the Scuderia at the Yas Marina Circuit also got that little bit harder after Leclerc received a 10-place grid penalty for the Abu Dhabi GP. Ferrari fitted his third battery of the year during FP1, which exceeded the Monegasque’s allowance of two for the season.

READ MORE: The most successful F1 drivers at the Abu Dhabi GP including Lewis Hamilton

Leclerc recovered from his delayed start to FP1 to set the pace with a 1:24.321, ahead of the 1:24.542 that Norris posted. So, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella would not be shocked to see the 27-year-old come through and trouble his drivers for the top positions in the race.

“Not at all,” Stella explained on Friday during the team principal’s press conference at the Abu Dhabi GP. “Even with the penalty, I would not be surprised if we see them fighting for the top spots very quickly. So, nothing changes.”

McLaren topped the results in practice for the Abu Dhabi GP as Ferrari fell off their pace

Ferrari benched Sainz as Leclerc made F1 history with his brother, Arthur, in FP1 for the Abu Dhabi GP. They became the first brothers to take part in an official F1 session with the same team. It was even 24-year-old Ferrari development driver Arthur Leclerc’s debut F1 session.

READ MORE: The most successful F1 teams at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix including Red Bull

The lack of seat time did not stop Sainz from finishing FP2, the first truly representative free practice session at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, fourth on the timesheet with his 1:24.099. He even bettered the 1:24.201 that Leclerc managed in FP2 as the Monegasque only sealed P6.

But worryingly for Ferrari and to help ease Stella’s confidence in Leclerc’s recovery, McLaren set the pace with Norris leading Piastri in a one-two in FP2. The Briton posted a 1:23.517 to set the fastest time, ahead of his teammate’s 1:23.751 and also Nico Hulkenberg’s 1:23.979.

Hulkenberg, making his final appearance with Haas ahead of joining Sauber as a works Audi driver in 2025, sprung a surprise with his fastest time of the session. Soon-to-be Ferrari star Lewis Hamilton also split the Scuderia for P5, as the Mercedes legend registered a 1:24.119.

Hamilton was also a closer match to the McLaren drivers during high-fuel running in FP2 for the Abu Dhabi GP. Piastri set the pace amid the race simulations yet Hamilton was only two-hundredths of a second per lap slower, throwing another possible spanner in Ferrari’s plans.