Lando Norris secured the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the end of the season, giving McLaren its first constructors’ title since 1988, as the Brit had to fly the flag alone after Oscar Piastri’s early drama.

McLaren’s two-car chase was reduced to one when Piastri was hit by Max Verstappen at Turn 1 and eliminated from the race. But for McLaren, Norris’ victory ahead of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc was enough to give McLaren a 13-point lead.

McLaren secures the 2024 Formula 1 constructors’ title with victory in Abu Dhabi

For the final time in the 2024 F1 World Championship, drivers took to the grid at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with the entire field running on medium Pirellis, with the exception of Lewis Hamilton, who was on hard tyres.

Lando Norris made a flying start from pole position, while Max Verstappen quickly attacked Oscar Piastri for second place. The two collided at the exit of Turn 1 and both spun, with Verstappen dropping to 11th and Piastri to 20th.

That turned into 19th place when Sergio Perez skidded after being hit by Valtteri Bottas. The race – and the career of the Red Bull driver? – above.

The VSC was eliminated, Norris led ahead of Carlos Sainz and Pierre Gasly, Charles Leclerc was eighth in the constructors’ championship in a great first lap for Ferrari. Hamilton was P12.

The VSC was overturned on Round 3 and Piastri found himself at war once again – although he was best placed at the back of Franco Colapinto’s Williams. The Argentine suffered a puncture and Piastri pitted for new tires.

The stewards’ investigation resulted in a 10-second penalty for Verstappen, which Piastri described as “a move by a world champion”. The same penalty was given to Bottas and Piastri also received it for his collision on lap 3.

On lap 10, Norris led by three seconds over Sainz and Gasly, George Russell, Nico Hülkenberg and Leclerc. Leclerc gained another position on Hülkenberg, but was knocking on the door of a penalty of his own with three warnings for track restrictions.

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Gasly was the first of the front runners to pit on lap 15. Zhou Guanyu was penalized with a five-second penalty for a false start and Lance Stroll received a black-and-white flag for out of bounds.

There were numerous pit stops on lap 20, but Norris, Sainz and Russell stayed out. It was a bad stop for Liam Lawson as he stopped and then reported: “The wheels aren’t right.” He pitted again, VCARB tightened the tire.

Sainz, Norris and Russell pitted on lap 27, with Norris back in the lead, ahead of Sainz, Verstappen and Hamilton, who had not pitted yet, Leclerc, Gasly and Russell, so Russell and Gasly. Verstappen stopped three laps later and had a few poignant words to say about the stewards as he served his 10-point penalty.

Bottas and Magnussen, both contesting their final F1 races, collided on lap 31 when the Sauber stalled and rolled over Magnussen. Bottas made it back to the pits but dropped out of the car. With no safety car on the horizon, McLaren sat down with Piastri to serve his penalty and Mercedes eventually called in Hamilton.

With 20 to go, Norris was 2.6 seconds ahead of Sainz, Leclerc was third ahead of Russell, Gasly, Hülkenberg, Hamilton and Alonso. Verstappen and Alex Albon were within the points. In the constructors’ championship, Norris still had a 13-point lead over McLaren.

When Hamilton got the “Hammer Time” message, he overtook Hülkenberg and took sixth before overtaking Gasly, who he made short work of. He was 14 seconds behind Russell with 15 seconds left, and as he began to close the gap, the lap count was running out. With two seconds left, the gap shrank to one second.

Back at the front, Norris broke Sainz’s competition and put tenths between himself and the Spaniard with every lap. Driving over a piece of rubble didn’t help Sainz’s cause.

Norris entered the final round of the championship with an eight-second lead and victory in the constructors’ championship was within reach. He reached the checkered flag, his fourth win of the season and secured McLaren the team title. Sainz was second ahead of Leclerc, while a late pass from Hamilton moved him into fourth ahead of Russell.

Verstappen finished sixth ahead of Gasly, Hülkenberg, Alonso and Piastri by a single point. Jack Doohan finished 15th in his Alpine debut as he prepares for his first full Formula 1 season in 2025. There was late drama for Lawson when his smoking VCARB broke on the final lap.

Result

1 Lando NORRIS
2 Carlos SAINZ +5,832
3 Charles LECLERC +31,928
4 Lewis HAMILTON +36,483
5 George RUSSELL +37,538
6 Max VERSTAPPEN +49,847
7 Pierre GASLY +72,298
8 Nico HULKENBERG +75,374
9 Fernando ALONSO +82,470
10 Oscar PIASTRI +83,896
11 Alexander ALBON +1 round
12 Lance STROLL +1 round
13 Yuki TSUNODA +1 round
14 ZHOU Guanyu +1 round
15 Jack DOOHAN +1 round
16 Kevin MAGNUSSEN +1 round

Not finished

Liam Lawson VCARB – Lap 58 – Technical
Valtteri Bottas Sauber – Lap 31 – Collision
Franco Colapinto Williams – Lap 28 – Engine
Sergio Perez Red Bull – Lap 1 – Collision

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