Fred Vasseur says Abu Dhabi ‘not a bad weekend’ for Ferrari in Abu Dhabi as he looks ahead to 2026

Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur believes the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was “not a bad weekend” as both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton reached the points in the final race of the season.

Leclerc managed to finish just off the podium in P4 having challenged champion-elect Lando Norris throughout, while Hamilton climbed from a disappointing P16 on the grid to P8 by the chequered flag at the Yas Marina Circuit.

“Overall this weekend is not a bad weekend,” said Vasseur reflecting on events at the season finale.

“We had a very tough start on Friday, good recovery, good work from the team and the factory to recover and have better pace on Saturday.

“Good pace in the race, we are matching with Norris but it’s not today we miss something, it’s this weekend on Friday.”

It brings to a close a difficult season for Ferrari, one where the Italian team failed to win a single Grand Prix and finished only P4 in the Teams’ Championship, 435 points behind champions McLaren.

This is in stark contrast to 12 months ago, when the team entered the final race in Abu Dhabi with the chance to win the Constructors’ title before just losing out to McLaren.

A huge regulation overhaul next season brings the prospect of a different pecking order, with Vasseur stressing the importance of finishing strongly in 2025 ahead of the winter break.

“I think it’s good to finish on the positive note but, at the end of the day, we know also that next year we are all completely blind [on who is the favourite],” he said.

“We know what we are doing but we don’t know what the others are doing and at the end it’s just a matter of comparison.

“Let’s refocus on ourselves, let’s push until the last day and the last day will be the beginning of the season.

“It will be another challenge but we have to refocus on ourselves once again. This is important.”