Vasseur fires Mercedes warning: 'We have the momentum'

Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur has laid down the gauntlet to Mercedes ahead of their season-finale battle for second place in the Constructors'.

Mercedes heads to Abu Dhabi on 392 points, just four ahead of Ferrari having seen its lead whittled down from 20 in the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

It follows a trend of Ferrari gradually eating into Mercedes' lead over recent races, with Mercedes scoring 44 points since the United States GP, with Ferrari on 66 over the same period.

In 2022, Ferrari edged Mercedes in the battle for runner-up behind Red Bull, with boss Vasseur believing the Maranello squad has all the momentum with its SF-23 machine over the W14.

Vasseur backs Ferrari

"If you consider that we were 60 points them a few races ago, we are on a good path," Vasseur told media including RacingNews365.

"But Abu Dhabi will be a different story, four points is nothing or a lot.

"We were able to perform in Monza, in Singapore, in Austin, in Mexico and during this weekend on different tyres, in different conditions and different compounds and we can be more than motivated before Abu Dhabi.

"The momentum is with us, so let's see what happens.

"I think we have to pay attention to not drawing quick conclusions as last time [in Brazil], Mercedes was nowhere on tyre management, and they did a decent race this weekend.

"From track to track, compound to compound it is a different story, and [in Las Vegas], the conditions were quite cold compared to the rest of the season, but we had good management for the past couple of races, but it is always on the edge."