Leclerc vows to race 'uncompromised' in Abu Dhabi, ignoring title contenders' battle

Charles Leclerc will start the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from fifth, directly on the periphery of the three-way title fight between Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, and Oscar Piastri. However, the Ferrari driver has made it clear he will not be drawn into their championship chaos, pledging to race purely on merit and strategy for his own team's benefit.

Why it matters:

In a finale where every position and point is critical, a driver of Leclerc's caliber operating outside the championship narrative adds a significant strategic variable. His refusal to be influenced by others' title fights ensures his actions will be purely tactical, potentially disrupting the carefully laid plans of the contenders and impacting the final championship outcome.

The details:

• Leclerc explicitly stated he does not want to know the complex championship scenarios, finding them stressful, and will instead focus solely on maximizing Ferrari's performance.
• His approach to racing the contenders will be purely situational: if slowing them down benefits his race, he will; if not fighting them is better for his strategy, he will let them pass.
• He emphasized it is "not my job to be here to favour one or the other," distancing himself from any notion of playing a kingmaker role.
• This stance comes as he wrestles with a Ferrari SF-25 he described as brutally tricky to extract performance from, requiring full commitment that borders on crashing, as evidenced by Lewis Hamilton's FP3 incident.
• Leclerc noted that such a knife-edge car makes it difficult to understand and improve its setup during qualifying sessions, unlike rivals who may have a more forgiving platform.

The big picture:

Leclerc's declaration underscores a driver prioritizing his team's immediate result over the broader championship drama, a pragmatic stance in a sport often consumed by narratives. His position on track and the unpredictable nature of his car mean he is almost guaranteed to be a factor in the race, making his neutral but uncompromising approach a key subplot to the title decider.