Ferrari aims for perfection in battle with Mercedes: 'So we can beat them'

Charles Leclerc is confident that Ferrari can beat Mercedes for second in the Constructors' Championship in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Ferrari is currently four points off Mercedes and have exhibited stronger race results in the last couple of Grands Prix, as the Silver Arrows have struggled in qualifying.

George Russell expects Mercedes will be stronger in the race, a threat Leclerc is wary of despite the fact that Ferrari outscored them in 2022.

"Well it's going to be tight. We have good momentum coming into this race, as the last few races have been positive," Leclerc told media, including RacingNews365.

"Mercedes has historically been pretty good in Abu Dhabi, so we'll have to put everything together to fight them and beat them in the Constructors' Championship."

When pressed over whether there is any specific area that Ferrari will excel in at Yas Marina, Leclerc said: "It depends on such fine details that is difficult to predict before every weekend where you are going to be.

"It's going to be tight as always, but it will all depend on who is optimising their package better."

Leclerc: Everybody is super motivated

While Ferrari has not had the season they expected after showing promise between 2022 and 2023, Leclerc believes the motivation to beat Mercedes is still there for the Scuderia.

"The last race was very positive, the one before was very positive pace-wise but obviously the result wasn't there for me," said Leclerc.

"Everybody is super motivated to beat Mercedes in the Constructors' Championship.

"Momentum is good, but the big work remains to be done on track and we'll make sure that we do everything perfectly as we can in order to beat them."