Leclerc: Happy how race went having made up points on McLaren

Leclerc's second-place finish along with Carlos Sainz's sixth place meant Ferrari are still in the running for the 2024 Formula 1 constructors' champions after the best-finishing McLaren was Oscar Piastri in third, while Lando Norris was tenth after getting a ten-second stop-go penalty for ignoring Yellow flags.

It was a tough weekend for Ferrari as their SF-24, usually good in low-speed corners, did not go well around the fast Lusail International Circuit, but with a bit of fortune on their side, misfortune for McLaren managed head to the season finale in Abu Dhabi next week 21 points behind their rivals in the constructors' championship.

Ferrari would have closed the gap down even more had it not been for a puncture on Sainz's car due to debris on track from the side mirror that fell off the Williams of Alex Albon.

Leclerc reflected on his race in Qatar, in which he started from fifth on the grid, he said in Ferrari's post-race report: "We expected this to be a difficult weekend for us so I’m happy with how the race went today, having made up some points on McLaren.

"We had some luck on my side and a bit less on Carlos’ with the puncture," he pointed out. "We may have been able to finish second and third had it not been for that, which is a shame teamwise, but overall, it was positive to be this competitive here.

"Driving for such an iconic team as Ferrari, it would be amazing for us to finish the season by bringing the constructors’ title back to Maranello.

"It won’t be easy to score the points we need to win the title in a single weekend, but everything is still possible and we will do absolutely everything to achieve it," Leclerc concluded.

Sainz, on the other hand, rued his bad luck, getting that puncture; he commented: "I’m obviously not happy with the outcome of today’s race.

"We were in a strong position but unfortunately, I got a puncture and had to complete an entire lap with a flat tyre. After the pit stop, the Safety Car came out so the whole situation cost us even more time and ultimately some crucial positions.

"Dragging the car for an entire lap led to some damage and the car felt a bit off, making things difficult for the last stint. That said, I’m pleased I managed to bring the car home and together with Charles’ podium we managed to score important points.

"We will fight until the last lap of the Abu Dhabi race for the championship, and hopefully finish the season in the best way possible," Sainz concluded.

As for Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur, he summed up his team's Qatari weekend by saying: "The most important thing today is that we scored more points than McLaren.

"We are now 21 points behind, with one race to go which means everything is possible. We have also increased our lead over Red Bull, which means in Abu Dhabi we can focus more on the team in front of us.

"The race today was a bit chaotic, but overall, it was a good one for us: we executed it well, the pace was there and I’m very pleased with the job we did today. It was in our plan that the drivers would not push too hard for the first laps in order to push more later on and we were confident we had the pace on the Hard to push until the end.

"We have some regrets, such as Carlos’ puncture which came at the very worst place, as he had to drive a full lap before pitting and it cost us one or two positions," Vasseur lamented. "Now we go to Abu Dhabi, which on paper, should be a better circuit for us.

"With Max [Verstappen] and Mercedes on the pace, you never know what could happen in the championship battle. We will push flat out to the final chequered flag," the Frenchman concluded.