Ferrari Racing Director Laurent Mekies spoke about the progress ahead of qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The Scuderia trailed Mercedes in practice on Friday but were ahead of the opposition on Saturday in the battle for second place in the Constructors’ Championship. Charles Leclerc finished third, Carlos Sainz fourth.
“This weekend, we decided that we need to get the most out of the cars, without looking back and thinking about fighting Mercedes for second place in the Constructors’ Championship. Yesterday it was clear that we are not in the best shape. The team tried to add and made progress. We were pretty close to Red Bull and ahead of Mercedes. Good start to the weekend.
Already yesterday we hoped that the conditions on the track would play into our hands. All cars perform better when the track is cold, but we expected that in our case the increase would be significant. Charles and Carlos performed very strongly, which put us between Red Bull and Mercedes.
This year we stopped the development of the car before Red Bull and Mercedes. And, hopefully, since we are so close at the end of the season, this will be our advantage. However, months of hard work lie ahead. No one knows which team will be better prepared for next season, ”Mekies said on Sky Sport.