Abu Dhabi, Dec 8
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 helped 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. This incident resulted in Verstappen receiving a penalty and Piastri dropping 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.
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 teammate Carlos Sainz. This victory confirmed that the constructors’ crown had gone to the papaya squad.
Charles Leclerc put in a fighting performance for the Scuderia, climbing back up to third after starting from P19 on the grid. Behind him, a late duel unfolded between Mercedes teammates 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 finished sixth, having bounced back from his earlier penalty, while Pierre Gasly followed in seventh as Alpine sealed P6 in the constructors’ championship. Nico Hulkenberg was eighth for Haas, ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in ninth. Piastri’s recovery drive ended with a 10th place finish, 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. 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 ended with a P15 result, setting the stage for 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. Liam Lawson’s season came to a dramatic end after he was forced to pull his smoking RB off the track in the final laps.
Valtteri Bottas’s chapter with Kick Sauber ended prematurely after he retired the car earlier in the race due to a puncture. A similar fate awaited Colapinto, whose stint with Williams came to a close on Lap 26. The final retiree was Sergio Perez, who suffered a Lap 1 spin following contact with Bottas and recorded a DNF amid continued speculation over whether he will return next season.