Ferrari narrowly missed out on the Constructors’ Championship this season as McLaren clinched the title in Abu Dhabi.
The Italian team finished in second and third places at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as Charles Leclerc stormed through the field to the final podium spot.
The Scuderia put pressure on McLaren at the Yas Marina Circuit as Oscar Piastri lost time after a collision with Max Verstappen, knowing an error from race leader Lando Norris could’ve given Ferrari the title.
Ferrari were very competitive and minimised their bad days over the campaign to maintain a title challenge despite McLaren and Red Bull having longer periods of success.
They won at Monaco early in the year as Leclerc dominated before the Monegasque driver took victory at the Italian Grand Prix and in Austin.
Former IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe explained that Ferrari impressed him despite not winning the championship for the first time since 2008.
Ferrari were impressive as they had the fastest car ‘very few times’ this year
Ferrari were consistent throughout the season as Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were two drivers who could extract the most from the SF-24 car.
When one driver had a bad day such as Leclerc’s frustrating race in Austria, Sainz kept the momentum up to finish third at the Red Bull Ring after Max Verstappen and Norris collided.
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Ferrari were also very competitive across a range of conditions, such as in Mexico City, with the lower air density and draggier rear wing required to compensate for the lack of downforce.
Hinchcliffe feels Ferrari’s consistency over the season was the key to their championship challenge against McLaren.
He said on the Off Track with Hinch and Rossi podcast: “Ferrari, great job. Very few times this year did they have the fastest car on a race weekend. That’s actually what’s so impressive about the fact that they took that thing down to the last lap of the championship because both their guys were just so good at bringing home those fourths to sevenths when their cars were average.
“McLaren had the strongest car in a bunch of races. Mercedes had the strongest car in a bunch of races. Obviously, Red Bull started with the strongest car.
“But Ferrari, you could say Austin, and you would have thought Vegas, but then Mercedes showed up and blitzed them in Vegas.”
There will be a reshuffle at Ferrari as Sainz is leaving the team and joining Williams after Lewis Hamilton replaced him
Sainz feels he is stronger than his replacement, Hamilton, but it may take some time to adjust to Williams’s different set of goals in the midfield next season.
Ferrari have a good opportunity to keep up the momentum in 2025
Ferrari ended the season strongly and in Leclerc and Hamilton they have two drivers who are vastly experienced in winning races.
Red Bull may struggle particularly with Liam Lawson if he is promoted to partner with Verstappen, as the pressures at the front are much higher.
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli will likely need time to adjust as the Italian driver is being thrown straight into the deep end alongside George Russell.
These young drivers could give Ferrari a chance to hit the ground running as the less experienced pairings may take more time getting up to speed.
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