Ferrari’s Laurent Mekies: “We want to have a good race to end the season”

Laurent Mekies says Qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Saturday was a solid session for Scuderia Ferrari, with Carlos Sainz Jr. and Charles Leclerc both making it through to Q3.

In what has proved to be an extremely close season amongst the midfield in 2021, it was good for Ferrari to secure top seven positions for both drivers, with Sainz ending fifth and Leclerc seventh, with Mekies, the Racing Director at the Maranello-based team, feeling both drivers gave it their all at the Yas Marina Circuit.

“A solid qualifying session, especially in terms of our performance level,” said Mekies.  “Right from the start of the season, we have seen that it’s very close behind the two teams at the front and it takes very little to find oneself ahead or behind a group that can be made up of between ten to 12 cars.

“Carlos and Charles gave it their best shot and were in the hunt for a place on the second row right to the end and their grid positions are a good starting point for tomorrow’s race.”

Mekies says the updated track in Abu Dhabi has proved once again that Ferrari can adapt to new conditions quickly, and he hopes that both Sainz and Leclerc and end the year inside the points and with Ferrari securing third place in the Constructors’ Championship ahead of the McLaren F1 Team.

“After races on two completely new tracks, we are at a circuit that has been significantly modified, making it much more flowing and I think the team has once again shown this weekend that it is capable of adapting quickly to anything new,” Mekies added.  “Today, we went against the tide in our approach to qualifying, which will help us exploit our potential.

“Tomorrow, we will try and convert that into a good result, in order to achieve the goals we are still pursuing. We want to have a good race to end the season, to put a smile on the face of our drivers, and all of us who work hard every day, both at the track and back in Maranello and all the people from all over the world who follow Scuderia Ferrari with so much passion and enthusiasm.”