Sainz says helping Ferrari to win constructors’ title would be ‘perfect goodbye’ in final race together

Carlos Sainz has admitted that helping Ferrari to seal the constructors’ championship in Abu Dhabi would be the “perfect goodbye” as he targets a win in his final race for the team.

The Scuderia arrive into the weekend still in contention for the crown, having cut McLaren’s lead down to 21 points last time out in Qatar, but the event is also significant given that it will bring Sainz’s four-year stint at the Italian outfit to a close.

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Reflecting on how he will look back on this chapter of his career ahead of his switch to Williams in 2025, Sainz commented: “First of all I think it’s going to be quite emotional, quite intense, not only because of it being the last weekend but also for how much is at stake with the constructors’ title.

“At the same time it’s been a tough year in general, with a lot going on in the background but I think I have to be quite happy and quite proud of how I handled every situation through the year and how I managed to push myself to get to the end of the year still in good shape, in good form, and ready to fight.”

In terms of what it would mean to win the constructors’ title with Ferrari before he leaves the team, Sainz responded: “It would mean everything, to be honest.

LUSAIL CITY, QATAR - DECEMBER 01: Carlos Sainz of Spain driving (55) the Ferrari SF-24 on track — Sainz will embark on the final race of his four-year stint with Ferrari in Abu Dhabi

“I think it’s the best way to say goodbye to my home these last four years, the team that I’ve given my absolute best [to] for the last four years. I’ve enjoyed every single moment with them, and to say goodbye with a constructors’ title would be the perfect sign-off or the perfect goodbye.

“I’m also honest with you in saying it’s not a long shot but it’s a difficult one, being 21 points behind two of the fastest drivers and one of the fastest teams, and [to] recover those 21 points in one weekend requires perfection from our side and probably not an optimal weekend or a bad weekend from their side.

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“It’s still going to be difficult, but I’ve seen worse things in racing happen before. We’re going to give it our best shot.”

For his own personal target this weekend, Sainz said: “I would obviously love to contribute to that constructors’ title with a win.

“In the end a win is what we need, I think we’re going to need to have both cars on the podium if we want to clinch the championship, unless something very disastrous happened to McLaren. That is my target.”

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - DECEMBER 05: Carlos Sainz of Spain and Ferrari attends the — Sainz hopes to end his time with Ferrari on a high ahead of his switch to Williams in 2025

But the Spaniard also acknowledged that to achieve this could prove challenging, with his expectation being that another close battle will unfold amongst the top four teams during the final weekend of the campaign.

“I think it’s honestly very tight between us, not only between Ferrari, McLaren but also Mercedes and Red Bull,” Sainz conceded. “I think we are always within a couple of tenths of each other.

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“Depending on the track, depending on the tyre compound we use, depending on the track characteristics, the wind, the conditions, one car will come [out] on top that weekend. Last weekend looked like it was going to be a McLaren, in the end it was Max [Verstappen], the other weekend George [Russell], the other weekend me in Mexico or again Max in the wet in Brazil.

“It’s almost so tight across the top four teams that you cannot pick one before a weekend and I think we are all waiting for practice to see who is the strongest that weekend.»