Ferrari are fighting for their first Constructors’ Championship since 2008 but are on the back foot with a 21-point deficit to McLaren.
The Italian team have improved a lot over the season, particularly in the second half of the year, with a victory for both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
Winning the Constructors would give Ferrari a boost heading into 2025 when Sainz will depart the team to make room for seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
McLaren looked very quick on Friday and throughout practice ahead of qualifying for the Abu Dhabi but may have run with a higher engine mode in the early running.
Leclerc is having to take a 10-place grid drop this weekend after the Scuderia changed the battery on Friday and exceeded the allocation for the season.
Former Formula 1 driver Jolyon Palmer warned Ferrari of an issue costing them a lot of time at the Yas Marina Circuit.
Ferrari have been suffering with the ‘plank scraping along the ground’
Ferrari have very little margin for error this weekend at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as they need to overturn McLaren’s advantage of 21 points at the end of the race.
The Italian team have been quick on a range of circuits this season with good top speed and compliance over kerbs in slow speed turns.
These aspects may help the Ferraris qualify towards the front of the field, although Leclerc’s grid penalty will hold them back.
READ MORE: McLaren boss ‘would not be surprised’ if Charles Leclerc does one thing after Abu Dhabi Grand Prix penalty
They would have been losing critical downforce when the car was hitting the ground at high speed and the SF-24 may have become very unpredictable.
Palmer explained on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra that this is something that Ferrari will need to refine heading into qualifying and the Grand Prix to extract more performance.
He said: “They have got to raise that car because it’s just too much on the Ferrari. We saw it with Charles Lecerlc earlier on, but he’s back in the pits.
“Carlos Sainz improved and is again at high speed. The car is building up speed and downforce, and then it’s sitting down with the plank scraping along the ground. They are pushing the boundaries of what they can get away with here.”
Ferrari have improved a lot this season which is encouraging for the team
Ferrari suffered a difficult start to the season as they were slightly inconsistent in the opening few rounds of the year.
The Italian team took victory at the Monaco Grand Prix with Leclerc but endured a much trickier weekend in Canada as both cars retired from the race.
Ferrari have also improved off the track with decision-making, such as at the Italian Grand Prix when they took a calculated risk to win at Monza with a one-stop strategy.
Hamilton joins the team next season and may need a reset to match Leclerc over a season both in qualifying and a race distance.
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