Ferrari duo Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc admitted they were “pained” about missing out on the 2024 Formula 1 constructors’ title.

Both Ferrari and McLaren were in the running for the team title that year, but ultimately McLaren took the crown by 14 points thanks to Lando Norris taking victory at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Oscar Piastri’s second McLaren could only fight its way to 10th place after being hit by Max Verstappen at the start. Sainz finished second and Leclerc recovered brilliantly from 19th place to also make it to the podium.

Despite second and third place finishes, Ferrari’s 16-year wait for a constructors’ championship continues.

“In the end it is of course a bit bittersweet feeling,” said Sainz, who finished second in his last race for Ferrari before moving to Williams.

“P2 was, in my opinion, the maximum we could achieve today given Lando’s pace in the McLaren. Yes. I gave it my all, especially in the first stint it looked like we could hold on to them.

“Then when we put the hard tires on, they seemed to be a tenth or two quicker per lap, like we’ve seen all weekend, and they just got out of reach.”

“But yes, first of all congratulations to McLaren. You deserve this championship. They were rock solid in the last two thirds of the championship and from our side they were incredible. I think we can be proud of the performance and championship we put together.

“It’s been a tough year, but definitely a year we can be proud of and hopefully be back here soon.”

Carlos Sainz, Ferrari SF-24

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

Leclerc’s impressive drive through the field began with him escaping the first lap drama and gaining numerous positions. The speed of his Ferrari ultimately enabled the Monegasque to fight his way up to third place.

Leclerc’s weekend was jeopardized on Friday when he was hit with a 10-place grid penalty for a new battery pack that was outside his quota for the season.

“I knew I had to be very aggressive. “So I knew that I had to risk everything on the first lap to make up as many positions as possible and then be in a good position for the rest of the race, which I managed to do,” he explained.

“But then unfortunately we started too far back to be able to do anything better than what we did today. I think we have reached the maximum.

“It hurts, of course, because when the season is so close until the end and it was a hard blow on Friday when we knew we had the penalty, we still gave everything and fell just short of our goal, which is a shame. but in the end we tried everything.

“If we look at the first part of the year, we were far from being in the battle for the constructors. Then the second half of the season was really good and the team did an incredible job.

“I think Carlos and I did a really good job together too. So yeah, we finished strong and I’m sure next year will hopefully start off as strong as what we finished this year.”

Photos from the GP race in Abu Dhabi