Thanks in part to their one-two finish in the sprint race in Qatar, McLaren stands a good chance of clinching the constructors’ title. The papaya team needs only to gain fifteen points over their closest rival, Ferrari, to secure the championship before the final race. Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz acknowledges that the Scuderia still has a chance to turn the tide, though he is not optimistic about the constructors’ title.
On Saturday, the Ferrari drivers qualified in fifth and seventh place respectively. This is not an ideal starting position with the constructors’ championship in mind. McLaren, which already recorded a one-two finish in the sprint on Saturday, secured the third and fourth spots. If both teams finish in their current positions on Sunday, it will not be enough to decide the constructors’ title – yet Carlos Sainz is not hopeful.”We would need to make a very, very big change in our pace,” he declared to the media in Qatar. “At the moment we are a few tenths behind, while we actually need a lead of a few tenths. A lot needs to change for that. In the race, we mainly need to stay with McLaren and challenge them with a strong strategy. If we can pull something off with good pit stops, we’ll see how it goes.”
Mission Impossible?
“It’s not about finding the connection, we really need to regain points and finish ahead of McLaren,” Carlos Sainz Jr. explained. “Of course, it would be nice if they don’t finish in the top two spots again, but even if they finish P3 and P4 ahead of us, it becomes a mission impossible scenario in Abu Dhabi,” the Spaniard concluded with a sigh.
Thanks to the double podium in the sprint race, McLaren has increased its lead over Ferrari to thirty points. If the papayas want to become champions this weekend, they need to gain another fifteen points on the Scuderia. A new one-two finish would therefore be enough to secure the title. Sainz and Ferrari hope to benefit from the fact that George Russell and Max Verstappen are on the front row. After the controversial qualifying, both drivers are determined to win the race.
