Charles Leclerc’s F1 Abu Dhabi GP concluded with a P4 finish after executing a two-stop strategy at the season finale. The Ferrari driver started fifth on the grid and battled through traffic following his first pit stops. He passed George Russell at the start and eventually held off Fernando Alonso.
Leclerc demonstrated strong pace in his closing stages, setting the fastest lap as he pushed to maximise Ferrari’s result. Lando Norris secured the 2025 Drivers’ World Championship with a P3 finish, while Max Verstappen won the race from pole position.
Opening stint and early pressure
Leclerc capitalized on Russell’s poor start to move into fourth during the opening sequence of the Abu Dhabi GP, with the Mercedes driver dropping from fourth to sixth. The Ferrari driver applied consistent pressure on Norris in P3, remaining within DRS range throughout the early stages.
Speaking in the print media pen after the race, when asked if Ferrari had pace almost matching McLaren, Leclerc confirmed but declined to elaborate.
“I think I do, but…No, I cannot explain it, but I think we do understand,” he stated.
The timing of discovering solutions proved frustrating for Leclerc’s Abu Dhabi GP performance. With no further races in the current regulation era, he cannot demonstrate whether Ferrari resolved their issues: “There’s not another race to prove it, and it’s the last race of this era of cars, so it doesn’t really matter.”
Russell’s undercut attempt triggers pit stops
Russell stopped first among the frontrunners, creating undercut pressure. When asked if an overcut on Norris was possible during Leclerc’s Abu Dhabi GP, Leclerc explained Ferrari’s strategic dilemma: “The overcut, I’m not sure, but there was also George that was pushing quite hard, and we would have gotten undercut by him. So I think it was the right thing to stop at that time.”
Ferrari followed Norris into the pits rather than risk losing position to Mercedes. Leclerc rejoined in traffic but quickly recovered through the field. He made his made his second stop shortly before the leaders, switching to fresh medium tyres and reclaiming fourth after overtaking Russell.
No strategic interference
Leclerc anticipated Verstappen might play games during the Abu Dhabi GP title decider: “I was expecting Max to play some games at the beginning or end of the race, but he didn’t do any of that.”
With Verstappen racing cleanly, Leclerc’s Abu Dhabi GP performance focused on maximising Ferrari’s position. He demonstrated competitive pace in the final stint, setting the fastest lap and managing the gap to the podium positions. Ferrari showed promise but the regulations change means Leclerc cannot prove whether further improvements were possible with the SF-25.
