Leclerc signals ‘satisfaction’ desire to defeat Norris

Charles Leclerc has outlined his desire to beat Lando Norris to the runners-up spot in the drivers' championship.

Just eight points separate the pair ahead of the season finale in Abu Dhabi this weekend, with Max Verstappen well out of reach in the lead of the standings.

Norris failed to extend his gap over Leclerc last time out in Qatar after being issued a 10-second stop-and-go penalty late on in the grand prix.

Leclerc moved up one spot on the podium in Qatar after Norris dropped down the order, gifting the Ferrari driver the chance to dramatically close the gap to his rival.

Should Leclerc finish P2 in the standings, it would mark the second time in his career that he has done so.

“That would be cool,” Leclerc told media including RacingNews365. “It's better than P3, but it's not the most exciting position to fight for. 

“However, in a year like this, where it's been very tricky for the team and we've gone through very difficult times, it will be still a satisfaction to get that P2. 

“I'll still do absolutely everything to get it. But the constructors’ is more important.”

Ferrari targeting Abu Dhabi title glory

As Leclerc mentioned, a much bigger prize is at stake as Ferrari enter the Abu Dhabi round with a chance of clinching the constructors' title.

It sits 21 points down on leader McLaren as both teams vie for their first F1 championship in 16 years.

With McLaren having the upper hand pace-wise in Qatar, Leclerc has suggested Ferrari will be in better form in Abu Dhabi.

“I feel like on paper, it should be a bit more positive than Qatar was,” he said. “We've been quite lucky, but without what happened to Lando, we would have been very, very far off. 

“Without the safety car, we would have been very far off. In terms of race pace, we weren't fast. 

“Abu Dhabi should be better for us, I hope so. But we'll wait and see. 

“It's not too many points between us. So we've just got to focus on ourselves and try to maximise everything. Hopefully we'll bring back the title to Maranello.”