Charles Leclerc produced a stunning performance at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to finish on the podium in third.
The Monegasque driver went into the season finale with a chance to finish second in the Drivers’ Championship. Ferrari was in with a shot of winning the constructors’ title as they sat 21 points behind McLaren.
An already difficult task was made even more challenging when Leclerc was hit with a 10-place grid penalty for changing his battery in practice. Things got worse in qualifying when the 27-year-old had a lap deleted in Q2, eliminating him from the session and leaving him 19th on the grid for the race.
After the turn one drama between Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri, Leclerc moved to eighth by turn seven. The Ferrari driver ended up finishing third behind teammate Carlos Sainz, but their efforts were not enough as Lando Norris converted pole to victory to win McLaren the Constructors’ Championship.
| Position | Constructors’ Standings | Points |
| 1 |
McLaren Racing |
666 |
| 2 |
Scuderia Ferrari |
652 |
| 3 |
Red Bull Racing |
589 |
| 4 |
Mercedes-AMG Petronas |
468 |
| 5 |
Aston Martin F1 Team |
94 |
| 6 |
Alpine F1 Team |
65 |
| 7 |
Haas F1 Team |
58 |
| 8 |
Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team |
46 |
| 9 |
Williams F1 Team |
17 |
| 10 |
Sauber F1 Team |
4 |
Losing the title by 14 points after such a performance will be gut-wrenching. But Leclerc proved Ferrari can rely on him for a long time after his incredible charge through the field.
As it turns out, the Ferrari driver’s feat at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has been a rare achievement in F1’s history.
Charles Leclerc becomes the fourth driver in F1 history to start 19th and finish on the podium
Leclerc has become only the fourth driver in F1 history to finish on the podium after starting a race in 19th, with the first instance happening way back in 1954.
Back when the Indianapolis 500 was part of the F1 world championship, American driver Bill Vukovich lined up 19th for the race and ended up winning. The race was the only event Vukovich ever competed in in F1 and his 1954 victory was his second consecutive win at Indy.
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No driver would start 19th and finish on the podium for another 53 years when Williams driver Alex Wurz came home third at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix. The Austrian benefitted from multiple accidents during the race to climb from 19th to finish on the podium at the sight of Lewis Hamilton’s first F1 win.
The latest driver to achieve this feat before Leclerc was Valtteri Bottas, who finished third from 19th at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix. Like Wurz, the Finn benefitted from the misfortune of others, as well as the power of the W11 to finish between the McLarens of Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris.
Charles Leclerc said goodbye to Carlos Sainz at Ferrari in Abu Dhabi
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix marks the final time Leclerc races alongside Sainz at Ferrari as the Spaniard makes way for Hamilton and joins Williams.
Leclerc dedicated his final radio message to Sainz as the four-year-long partnership with the Maranello squad came to an end at the Yas Marina Circuit
READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory
Leclerc says Sainz helped him improve in so many areas during his time with the team, and he will head into 2025 looking to carry those improvements into challenging new teammate Hamilton next season.
The Monegasque driver is well-established at Ferrari and will be tough competition for the seven-time world champion. Jolyon Palmer claims Hamilton needs a ‘full reset’ at Ferrari after his difficult last three years with Mercedes.
