Lando Norris achieved a decisive victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, securing the 2024 FIA Formula One Constructors’ Championship title for McLaren. Carlos Sainz from Ferrari finished in second place, while Charles Leclerc staged an impressive recovery, enhancing the excitement of the race until the very end.
“It feels incredible. Not for myself, but before the whole team,” Norris said. “The team have done an amazing job this year to come from where we were at the beginning. I’m so proud of everyone. It’s been a lovely journey, and to end the season like this is perfect. So just a congrats and a big thank you to everyone in McLaren, everyone in papaya, everyone who supported us this year, because it’s been a tough one, but for us to win a Constructors’ after 26 years is pretty special.”
As the race commenced, Norris and his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri, had a strong start. However, Max Verstappen, starting from fourth on the grid, executed an even better launch. The Red Bull driver overtook Sainz and attempted to pass Piastri as they approached Turn 1. This aggressive move, however, ended in collision as the corner tightened; both drivers spun out. Verstappen managed to rejoin the race in 11th position, but Piastri fell to the back of the pack. Verstappen’s actions resulted in a 10-second time penalty for causing the incident.
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Shortly thereafter, another incident unfolded when Sergio Pérez was collided with by Valtteri Bottas from Sauber. Although Pérez rejoined the race at the back of the field, he was ultimately forced to retire, potentially concluding his tenure with the team.
“I gave it everything, especially the first thing. It looked like we could hang on to them. Then as soon as we put the Hard tires, they just seemed to be that one or two tenths quicker per lap, like we’ve seen all weekend,” Sainz said. “And they just got a bit out of reach. But yeah, congratulations, first of all, to McLaren. They deserve this championship. They’ve been rock solid in the last two-thirds of the championship, and they’ve been incredible. From our side. I think we can be proud of the effort and the championship we put together. It’s been a tough year, but definitely a year where we need to be proud of and, yeah, hopefully be back here soon.”
These developments prompted the deployment of the Virtual Safety Car, with Norris leading ahead of Sainz, Pierre Gasly from Alpine, George Russell of Mercedes, and Nico Hülkenberg from Haas. Leclerc significantly benefitted from the earlier incidents, advancing from 19th to eighth position by the end of the first lap.
Once the Virtual Safety Car period ended, Leclerc continued his rise, overtaking Kevin Magnussen and Fernando Alonso to secure sixth place. Verstappen also made progress, reaching eighth by lap 12. Meanwhile, Piastri faced further challenges when he collided with the rear of Franco Colapinto’s Williams at the restart, resulting in another 10-second penalty.
“I had to take all the risks possible in order to gain as many places as possible, to then be in a good position for the rest of the race, this achieved. But then, unfortunately, we were just starting too far back to do anything better than what we’ve done today. I think we’ve done the maximum. It hurts, obviously, because the season was so close until the end. It was a hard hit on Friday when we knew we had the penalty. We still gave it all and we just came short of our goal, which is a shame. But at the end, we’ve tried everything.
As the first stint progressed, Leclerc and Verstappen continued to gain positions, with Leclerc moving up to fifth by lap 15, closely followed by Verstappen in sixth. At the front, Norris maintained a four-second lead over Sainz and was 15 seconds ahead of Russell. Gasly was the first frontrunner to pit on lap 15, switching from Medium to Hard tyres, and rejoined in ninth.
Following Gasly’s pit stop, there was a strategic pause among his competitors. On lap 21, Leclerc attempted an undercut on Russell, pitting for Hard tyres and rejoining behind Gasly. He quickly overtook Gasly to capture sixth place.
Sainz made his pit stop on lap 26, prompting McLaren to bring in Norris on the following lap to cover him, while Russell also pitted from third. Verstappen, despite expressing concerns about his fading tyres, opted to remain on track until lap 30, at which point he changed to Hard tyres and served his penalty. After exiting in 11th, he soon passed Alex Albon and, following Piastri’s pit stop on lap 33, he moved up to eighth place.
Lewis Hamilton, now on fresher tyres, began his charge, quickly advancing past Hülkenberg and Gasly. Verstappen then overtook Hülkenberg and subsequently Gasly on lap 46, securing sixth place behind Hamilton.
Ultimately, Verstappen was unable to progress further, as Hamilton maintained a considerable advantage on his newer tyres. Norris celebrated his fourth victory of the season, leading McLaren to its first Constructors’ title since 1998. Sainz and Leclerc completed the podium, while Hamilton concluded his Mercedes career with a fourth-place finish after passing his teammate Russell. Behind Verstappen, Gasly’s seventh place secured Alpine sixth in the Constructors’ standings over Haas. Alonso finished in ninth, with Piastri securing the final points of the race.
2024 FIA Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Race
1 Lando Norris McLaren/Mercedes 58 1:26’33.291
2 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 58 1:26’39.123 5.832
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 58 1:27’05.219 31.928
4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 58 1:27’09.774 36.483
5 George Russell Mercedes 58 1:27’10.829 37.538
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull/Honda RBPT 58 1:27’23.138 49.847
7 Pierre Gasly Alpine/Renault 58 1:27’45.851 1’12.560
8 Nico Hülkenberg Haas/Ferrari 58 1:27’48.845 1’15.554
9 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin/Mercedes 58 1:27’55.664 1’22.373
10 Oscar Piastri McLaren/Mercedes 58 1:27’57.112 1’23.821
11 Alexander Albon Williams/Mercedes 57 1:26’44.542 1 lap /11.251
12 Yuki Tsunoda RB/Honda RBPT 57 1:26’48.029 1 lap /14.738
13 Zhou Guanyu Sauber/Ferrari 57 1:26’50.595 1 lap /17.304
14 Lance Stroll Aston Martin/Mercedes 57 1:26’51.764 1 lap /18.473
15 Jack Doohan Alpine/Renault 57 1:26’59.846 1 lap /26.555
16 Kevin Magnussen Haas/Ferrari 57 1:27’50.888 1 lap /1’17.597
17 Liam Lawson RB/Honda RBPT 55 1:24’36.949 Not running
Valtteri Bottas Sauber/Ferrari 30 47’27.280 Accident damage
Franco Colapinto Williams/Mercedes 26 41’10.430 Retirement
Sergio Pérez Red Bull/Honda RBPT 0 – Retirement
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