Vasseur hands Ferrari firm instruction ahead of McLaren showdown

Frederic Vasseur has warned McLaren that Ferrari is "still alive" in the hunt for the constructors' championship heading to the Abu Dhabi finale. 

Ferrari reduced the gap to McLaren to 19 points in the Qatar Grand Prix after Lando Norris's penalty, with the Scuderia on 619 points to McLaren's 640. 

A McLaren victory would be its first constructors' title since 1998, whilst a Ferrari success would be its first F1 title of any kind since the 2008 constructors'. 

The Yas Marina circuit is expected to suit Ferrari's SF-24 package more than McLaren's MCL38 as Vasseur instructed his team to simply focus on doing its own job - with Charles Leclerc also able to steal second in the drivers' from Norris if he out-scores him by eight points.

"We'd have signed for this to score more points than McLaren, and we are still alive for the championship, and Charles is not far away from Norris for P2 on the drivers side," Vasseur told media including RacingNews365.

"On paper, [Abu Dhabi] is probably a bit better for us, but let's fight until the last corner of the last lap. 

"I would prefer to have 20 points in the pocket, but it is not a matter of pressure, it is a matter of doing a good job and being quick, and then we will see.

"We have to be focused on ourselves, we were able to do some weekends during season of trying to be the best, but it is true that even if you do [everything], McLaren can be champion, but the most important thing is to be focused on yourself and not start thinking about what the others are doing."

Ferrari on paper

Qatar's high-speed sweeps was expected to suit the McLaren package with the slow corners leading into big acceleration and traction zones tipped to favour Ferrari after success at similar tracks earlier in the season. 

But Vasseur is determined that Ferrari would still do its job and extract the maximum performance possible. 

"On paper, for different reasons of the track temp or the layout, we are probably in better shape [than Qatar]," he added.

"We have to do the job, it is not a given that we will be in good shape in Abu Dhabi, but it will be that we have to do the job. 

"We have to put everything together, it is always a challenge but we will go in with huge motivation."