Lando Norris secures constructors’ title for McLaren with Abu Dhabi Grand Prix win
Lando Norris secured McLaren’s first Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship for 26 years with victory at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Norris led from start to finish and his fourth win of the season was enough to seal the championship by 14 points, despite Ferrari finishing second and third with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc.
Leclerc’s brilliant drive after starting from 19th on the grid kept the tension up – if anything had happened to Norris’ car, Ferrari would have won the title.
Lewis Hamilton finished fourth in his final race for Mercedes, passing teammate George Russell six corners into the race.
Hamilton did donuts on the pit straight after crossing the line and then spent a few moments with his car, collecting his thoughts, before congratulating Norris and McLaren F1 boss Jack Brown and consoling Sainz and Leclerc.
Concerns for McLaren began at the first corner when Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri, who was second behind the Briton, was caught in a spin by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The world champion was given a 10-second penalty for the incident.
This pushed Piastri to the back of the field and McLaren’s hopes rested on Norris.
Leclerc increased McLaren’s nerves with a stunning first lap, in which he gained a remarkable 11 positions, including passing five cars at once near the chicane at Turns Six and Seven.
Leclerc’s climb continued, as he overtook Haas drivers Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso, and then on lap 20 Pierre Gasly following his pit stop at Alpine. He finished third when George Russell and Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes of Verstappen moved out of his way.
Leclerc, sitting third behind Norris and Sainz in the final 15 laps, asked if “this is how we lose the constructors” and was told, yes, but the race was not over.
But Norris and McLaren had everything under control and crossed the line six seconds ahead of Sainz, ending a long and painful period without a title.
