Lando Norris got McLaren the constructor’s championship.
Norris won Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from the pole position ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc. McLaren entered the race with a 21-point cushion on Ferrari and Norris’ win was more than enough to clinch the team’s first constructor’s title since 1998.
Oscar Piastri started on the front row alongside Norris but was taken out in the first corner of the race by Max Verstappen. The four-time champion started fourth on the grid and tried to dive to Piastri’s inside on the opening corner. He didn’t make it and slid into Piastri’s car. The contact sent both drivers spinning and resulted in a 10-second penalty for Verstappen.
Piastri fought his way back to 10th to score a point after getting a 10-second penalty of his own for running into Franco Colapinto. That point for Piastri meant that McLaren won the title by 14 points over Ferrari.
Leclerc started the race in 19th after a 10-place grid penalty for an engine change before the race. He drove his way to eighth in the opening lap thanks to the collision between Verstappen and Piastri and another tangle with Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez and worked his way forward from there.
Lewis Hamilton finished fourth in his final race from Mercedes after starting 16th. Hamilton was the only driver to start the race on hard compound tires — everyone else started on the mediums — and used the reverse strategy to great effect. He made an aggressive pass of teammate George Russell on the final lap to move from fifth.
Verstappen finished sixth and wasn’t a factor after serving his penalty.
Norris’ win was his fourth of the season. Piastri won two races as the team was the most consistent of anyone all season, especially after breaking Verstappen’s early-season streak of dominance. Verstappen won two races over the final 14 Grand Prix of the season after scoring seven wins in the first 10 races.
Norris finished second to Verstappen in the driver’s standings while Leclerc was third and Piastri was fourth by just two points over Sainz after his second-place finish. Sainz is being replaced at Ferrari by Hamilton and is heading 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)
