Lando Norris gave McLaren the constructors’ championship.
Norris won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday from pole position, ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc. McLaren went into the race with a 21-point lead over Ferrari and Norris’ victory was more than enough to clinch the team’s first constructors’ title since 1998.
Oscar Piastri started next to Norris on the front row, but was eliminated by Max Verstappen in the first corner of the race. The four-time champion started fourth on the grid and tried to dive to the inside of Piastri in the opening corner. He didn’t make it and got into Piastri’s car. The contact caused both drivers to spin and resulted in a 10-second penalty for Verstappen.
Piastri fought his way back to 10th place to score a point after himself receiving a 10-second time penalty for running into Franco Colapinto. That point for Piastri meant McLaren won the title 14 points ahead of Ferrari.
Leclerc started the race 19th after a 10-place grid penalty due to a pre-race engine change. Thanks to the collision between Verstappen and Piastri and another collision with Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, he climbed to eighth place on the opening lap and worked his way up from there.
Lewis Hamilton finished fourth in his final Mercedes race after starting 16th. Hamilton was the only driver to start the race on hard tires – everyone else started on the medium tires – and used the reverse strategy to great effect. He made an aggressive pass from teammate George Russell on the final lap and moved up from fifth.
Verstappen finished sixth and played no role after serving his sentence.
Norris’ victory was his fourth of the season. Piastri won two races as the team was the most consistent of all throughout the season, especially after breaking Verstappen’s dominance at the start of the season. Verstappen won two races during the last fourteen Grand Prix of the season, after taking seven victories in the first ten races.
Norris finished second behind Verstappen in the drivers’ standings, while Leclerc finished third and Piastri fourth, just two points ahead of Sainz after his second place. Sainz will be replaced by Hamilton at Ferrari and will move to Williams in 2025.
Race results
1. Lando Norris, McLaren
2. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari
3. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
4. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
5. George Russell, Mercedes
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull
7. Pierre Gasly, Alpine
8. Nico Hulkenberg, Haas
9. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
10. Oscar Piastri, McLaren
11. Alex Albon, Williams
12. Yuki Tsunoda, RB
13. Zhou Guanyu, Sauber
14. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
15. Jack Doohan, Alpine
16. Kevin Magnussen, Haas
Not classified: Liam Lawson (RB), Valtteri Bottas (Sauber), Franco Colapinto (Williams), Sergio Perez (Red Bull)
