Lando Norris dominated this Sunday’s Abu Dhabi GP, which concluded the Formula 1 season. In doing so, he secured the Constructors’ Championship for McLaren – a title that had eluded the Woking team since 1998.
Race summary
A strong start by Lando Norris (McLaren/Mercedes) saw him capitalize on pole position and maintain the lead. However, his teammate Oscar Piastri was involved in an incident with Max Verstappen (Red Bull) on the first lap. The Australian fell far behind, and the Dutchman was handed a 10-second penalty.
Stewards hand Verstappen a 10-second penalty for that contact at Turn 1 at the start 👀#AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/yACly3d4Qg
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 8, 2024
Shortly after, there was another incident between Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) and Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber/Ferrari), also on the opening lap. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) moved up to second, Pierre Gasly (Alpine) slotted into third, and Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) made an impressive start to climb to eighth by the end of the first lap.
Damage to Pérez’s car forced him to retire soon after, bringing out a virtual safety car. The neutralization was brief, and upon resumption, Norris already had a lead of over three seconds on Sainz. Gasly held off George Russell (Mercedes) until pitting on lap 15, while Leclerc continued to climb the order.
The front-runners delayed their pit stops until lap 27. Sainz managed to reduce the gap to Norris, but the Briton pulled away again, building a lead of over seven seconds before crossing the finish line 5.832 seconds ahead of the Spaniard to claim victory.
After the pit stops, Leclerc settled into a solitary third place, unable to challenge the top two but also unthreatened by any competitors behind him. The Monegasque driver thus secured the final spot on the podium.
The battle for fourth place unfolded between the Mercedes drivers, with Russell giving up the position to Lewis Hamilton on the final lap. Verstappen recovered to finish sixth, completing his comeback with a pass on Gasly in the final ten laps. Nico Hülkenberg (Haas/Ferrari) finished eighth, ahead of Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin/Mercedes). Tenth place earned Piastri a single point, making him the only driver to complete every lap of the season.
Further down the order, Guanyu Zhou (Kick Sauber/Ferrari) bid farewell to F1 with a 13th-place finish, while Jack Doohan (Alpine) made his debut in 15th. Kevin Magnussen (Haas/Ferrari) ended his final race in 16th place. Bottas, Franco Colapinto (Williams/Mercedes), and Pérez failed to finish, marking what could be the final race for all three drivers.
Results:
RACE CLASSIFICATION (LAP 58/58)
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 8, 2024
Norris claims his fourth career win as McLaren clinch their first constructors' title since 1998!#F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/RkW6WW7FqW
