Lando Norris won the constructors’ championship for McLaren.

Norris won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday from pole position ahead of Ferrari drivers 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 secure the team’s first constructors’ title since 1998.

Oscar Piastri started on the front row alongside Norris, but was taken out by Max Verstappen in the first corner of the race. The four-time champion started fourth and tried to push Piastri to the inside in the first corner. He didn’t make it and slipped 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 and picked up a point after receiving a 10-second penalty himself for hitting Franco Colapinto. This point for Piastri meant that McLaren won the title by 14 points over Ferrari.

Leclerc started the race in 19th place after receiving a penalty of ten starting places due to an engine change before the race. Thanks to the collision between Verstappen and Piastri and another altercation with Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez, he moved up to eighth place on the first 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 with great success. On the final lap he aggressively overtook teammate George Russell and moved up from fifth place.

Verstappen finished sixth and no longer played a role after serving his penalty.

Norris’ victory was his fourth win of the season. Piastri won two races as the team was the most consistent of all throughout the season, especially after Verstappen’s streak of dominance was broken at the start of the season. Verstappen won two races in the last 14 Grands Prix of the season, having scored seven victories in the first ten races.

Norris finished second in the Drivers’ Championship behind Verstappen, while Leclerc was third and Piastri finished fourth after his second place, just two points ahead of Sainz. 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, Clean

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)