“A great achievement”: Ferrari boss applauds Charles Leclerc-Carlos Sainz led challenge for F1 supremacy

Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur called it a "great achievement" to head into the final race of the season with a chance of winning the Constructors' Championship against McLaren. The two teams are currently separated by 21 points.

As Red Bull dropped to third place in the standings, McLaren took the championship lead and Ferrari soon followed with consistent performances. Heading into the season's final race in Abu Dhabi, there is still a mathematical possibility for the Italian squad to claim their first title since 2008. This is the first time in the turbo-hybrid era that the Constructors' champion has not been decided prior to the final race.

Reviewing their performance improvement throughout the season, team principal Fred Vasseur said it was a major achievement for the team and that they would be putting in their best to extract the maximum points. During the Abu Dhabi GP preview, he said:

"For the first time in the hybrid era, we are in the running for the championship title at the final round. That in itself is a great achievement, but this weekend we will be trying to take that important final step."

However, there are more challenges to Ferrari's triumph. The 21-point gap does not give the Prancing Horse many chances on their own. Even if they manage to extract the maximum points on the weekend, McLaren could still have the edge by a small margin if they finish P3 and P4. He added:

"Let’s be honest, it is a mathematical possibility, but in reality it will be very difficult to achieve, because even if we finish first and second, McLaren with its 21-point lead going into this race can afford to finish third and fourth, or even worse and still have the edge.

"But Ferrari has always liked a challenge! If we can once again produce a perfect weekend from start to finish, we will at least be in with a chance and be able leave Abu Dhabi saying we gave it our best shot."

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Ferrari to make history with Charles Leclerc and his younger brother Arthur

As part of the F1 program, all drivers are mandated to sit out and let a rookie driver drive their car during an FP1 session in the season. Carlos Sainz will be handing over his SF-24 to Arthur Leclerc, Ferrari's development driver and Charles Leclerc's younger brother.

This is set to be the first time in the history of F1 that two siblings would take part in the same session as teammates. Also, this would be the second time that the grid would observe a pair of siblings. The only time Formula 1 previously had siblings was Michael Schumacher with Ralf Schumacher, however, they never teamed up under the same name.

Carlos Sainz will return to race alongside Charles Leclerc for the remainder of the weekend.