Charles Leclerc's remarkable charge from 19th to 3rd place in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix wasn't enough to secure Ferrari the constructors' championship, with McLaren ultimately prevailing in the season finale.

Starting from the back due to a power unit penalty, Leclerc gained an impressive 11 positions on the opening lap, including a stunning triple overtake around the outside of Turn 6. Despite his heroic efforts, Ferrari fell short of overturning their 21-point deficit to McLaren.

"I'm really happy about the race, but the disappointment is a lot bigger," Leclerc reflected. "You don't win or lose a championship in the last race — McLaren has just done a better job than us throughout the season."

The Monégasque driver acknowledged the necessity of his aggressive approach: "I knew I had to take all the risks possible in lap 1 to gain as many positions as possible. We achieved that, but unfortunately, we were starting too far back to do anything better."

Carlos Sainz, in his final race for Ferrari, secured second place behind McLaren's Lando Norris but couldn't quite match the pace needed for victory. "P2 was the maximum we could do today," Sainz admitted. "We looked competitive in the first stint, but once we switched to hard tires, they had that one or two tenths advantage per lap."

Both drivers acknowledged McLaren's superior performance in the latter part of the season, with Sainz noting, "They deserve this championship. They've been rock solid in the last two-thirds of the championship."

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