McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown maintains his team wants to win the constructors' championship "on track" after Ferrari was handed at hammer blow at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc has been awarded a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday's race at the Yas Marina Circuit due to needing to change the energy store in his SF-24.
Having already used the allocated two components for the year, drawing upon a third has put the Italian team at a significant disadvantage.
The Monegasque driver nonetheless topped FP1, despite missing the first 30 minutes of the session as the Scuderia rectified the problem.
When he did emerge, he made history with brother Arthur as the first brothers to drive for the same constructor in an F1 session.
It comes on a pivotal weekend for Ferrari and McLaren, as both have the chance to secure a first constructors' title for in the contemporary era.
Whilst Ferrari last clinched the crown in 2008, the Woking squad has not won the championship since 1998.
Heading into the showdown in Abu Dhabi, McLaren holds a 21-point lead over the Maranello-based outfit, meaning the fight was in their control before Ferrari was hit by its unexpected penalty.
"It doesn't hurt, but their car is very fast," Brown told Sky Sports F1 shortly after the news broke.
The American attempted to temper expectations, highlighting that is not yet over and maintaining his wish to win it head-to-head and not by way of penalty misfortune.
"We know they'll be fast around here and we've seen Max [Verstappen] go from P17 to win [in Brazil]," the 53-year-old pointed out.
"Obviously in a little different circumstances, assuming it doesn't have a torrential downpour here [on] Sunday. But we want to win it on track."
Most read
In this article
Join the conversation!