Norris Sails To Victory In Abi Dhabi As Mclaren Win First Constructors’ Championship Since 1998
Lando Norris has brought the 2024 season to a close in style by winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in dominant form, the Briton putting in an assured drive to claim victory and also help McLaren to clinch their first constructors’ championship since 1998.
It was a strong start to the race for pole-sitter Norris amid chaos behind him, with Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen making contact in a battle for second, which saw the latter receive a penalty and the former drop down the order. There was also further trouble for the Australian, who received a punishment of his own for a collision with the Williams of Franco Colapinto.
And while various other fights played out across the field – which saw a solid performance from McLaren’s title rivals Ferrari – Norris kept a cool head up front to triumph, taking the chequered flag by five seconds from former team mate Carlos Sainz, which confirmed that the constructors’ crown had gone to the papaya squad.
Charles Leclerc put in a fighting performance for the Scuderia to climb back up to third, having started back in P19 on the grid. Behind him a late duel played out between Mercedes team mates George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, with the seven-time world champion snatching fourth in the final moments to bring his chapter with the squad to an emotional close.
Verstappen was sixth, the Red Bull man having bounced back from his earlier penalty, with Pierre Gasly following in seventh as Alpine sealed P6 in the constructors’ championship, while Nico Hulkenberg was eighth for Haas ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in ninth. Piastri’s recovery drive ended with 10th place, a disappointing outcome for the Australian despite his team’s success.
Alex Albon missed out on points for Williams in P11, as did RB’s Yuki Tsunoda in P12, while Zhou Guanyu ended his last race for Kick Sauber in P13 ahead of the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll in P14. Jack Doohan’s debut for Alpine, meanwhile, ended with a P15 result ahead of his first full season in the sport next year.
Kevin Magnussen was the final classified runner for Haas in 16th, perhaps not the ending that the Dane was hoping for in his last outing for the squad, while Liam Lawson’s season came to a dramatic end after he was forced to pull his smoking RB off the track in the last laps.
Valtteri Bottas’s chapter with Kick Sauber ended prematurely, having retired the car earlier in the race following a puncture. There was also a similar finish to Colapinto’s stint with Williams, which came to a close on Lap 26.
The final retiree was Sergio Perez, who suffered a Lap 1 spin following contact with Bottas and went on to record a DNF amid continued speculation over whether he will return next season.
