Drove ahead
Lando Norris
Keystone/AP/Darko Bandic
The podium
- 1. Lando Norris (GBR)
- 2. Carlos Sainz (ESP) +5.832 seconds
- 3. Charles Leclerc (MON) +31,928 Sekunden
McLaren successfully defended its lead in the constructors’ championship in the final race of the season. Winning the title marks the end of a long dry spell for the British racing team. McLaren last won the coveted award in 1998. At that time the two drivers were called Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard.
26 years later, it is Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri who gave McLaren the constructors’ title. At the Yas Marina Circuit, it was mainly thanks to the victorious Brit that McLaren was able to successfully defend its lead over Ferrari.
The course of the race
Norris and Piastri had every advantage with starting positions 1 and 2. However, after a meeting with Max Verstappen in the first corner, Piastri fell far behind and had to pit. In the end, the Australian only managed 10th place and thus only one point.
Meanwhile, the two Ferrari drivers did their job brilliantly. Carlos Sainz moved up to second place after the collision between Piastri and Verstappen, while Charles Leclerc made up place after place and finally came third behind his teammate. The Monegasse started the race from second-to-last position.
In the final analysis, this was still not enough for Ferrari to overtake McLaren. The “Scuderia” gained 7 points, but was only able to reduce the gap to 14 points.
Sauber season ends on a sobering note
For the two Sauber drivers, a sobering season ended with another disappointment. Valtteri Bottas started in ninth place, higher than ever this year. The Finn’s hopes of getting his first World Cup points were dashed early on after he was passed through shortly after the start. Bottas later retired, making his first pointless season a reality.
Guanyu Zhou finished 13th and came away empty-handed in his last race in the Sauber cockpit, just like Bottas. A week ago in Qatar, the Chinese secured the Hinwil racing team’s first and only points this year with 8th place.
Hamilton farewell ends without a podium
After 12 seasons for Mercedes, record world champion Lewis took 4th place in his last race for the “Silver Arrows” after a rapid race to catch up. The 39-year-old Brit, who started the race from 16th position, is moving to Ferrari next season and wants to win his 8th world title with the Italians.
This is how it continues
The 2025 Formula 1 season starts on March 16 in Australia. There are again 24 races on the calendar, with the season once again coming to an end in the Emirates.
