Charles Leclerc says Ferrari will give the fight for the Formula One constructors' championship their all in the final weekend at Abu Dhabi.
The Ferrari star finished second at the Qatar Grand Prix behind Max Verstappen, but bettered both McLaren drivers' positions, with Oscar Piastri in third and Lando Norris in 10th after he received a 10-second stop-go penalty.
That result means there are now just 21 points separating Ferrari and leaders McLaren in the constructors' championship ahead of the final race.
Leclerc has now finished on the podium 12 times in 2024, his best year in F1, surpassing his previous best of 11 in 2022. He is also now just nine points behind Norris in the drivers’ standings.
Ferrari knows a big result is needed in Abu Dhabi next weekend, and Leclerc is looking forward to seeing how things pan out.
"It's difficult to know [how Ferrari will perform in Abu Dhabi]," he said.
"I think we are all close, so I think it's going to be very tight, but it's exciting. Twenty-one points is still a lot, and everything is possible. We will give it our all.
"I'm really happy, I mean honestly, I would have signed a paper that told me that we will finish second after a weekend like this.
"Especially on a track like this because our car's characteristics is not fitting very well with this track, and we knew it was going to be a difficult weekend compared to McLaren, but in the end, we managed to take some points from them, so yeah, the fight will be all the way to the last race in Abu Dhabi next week."
Leclerc's team-mate Carlos Sainz finished in sixth after he suffered a puncture on lap 36 due to debris on the track.
"Honestly, I don't know if it was the debris or the way the kerbs are. I just ignored it because I knew that there was too much performance in it, and I was just hoping to not have a puncture myself as well," Leclerc added.
"For the debris, I was staying left on the straights, hoping it wouldn't bite me, and it didn't. It's a shame for Carlos. Obviously, as a team, it would have been great to be further up with Carlos, but it's the way it goes, and it's still a positive weekend for the team."