Lando Norris wins the last Grand Prix of the year and offers the constructor's title to McLaren

Since 2010, the world of Formula 1 has been a private affair. Whether for the ranking of drivers or that of manufacturers, the situation is the same, season after season: the winner is always labeled “Mercedes” or “Red Bull”. In 2024, Max Verstappen extended his reign by winning his fourth consecutive title in the colors of the Austrian team. A year like any other after all? Not quite. The big upheaval took place on the side of collective reward. At the end of the 24^e and last Grand Prix of the season, Sunday December 8 in Abu Dhabi, McLaren won the constructor's championship by getting the better of Ferrari.

To overcome the Scuderia, which fought until the end, McLaren once again relied on Lando Norris. On the Yas Marina circuit, the 25-year-old Briton scored his fourth success of the season, giving his team the ninth in its history, the first since 1998. The celebration was even complete in the McLaren garage, as Norris finished second. place in the drivers' championship.

“It’s incredible. Not just for me, but for the whole team. The team did an incredible job. I'm so proud of everyone. It's been an incredible journeyreacted Norris upon arrival, at the microphone of the organizers. After twenty-six years of waiting, it's really special to win this title. This is a historic moment. »

McLaren took advantage of its lead

This success for the British team was difficult to imagine at the start of 2023, when the orange single-seaters were accustomed to the back of the grid. At the start of the 2024 financial year, it was also very presumptuous to envisage the team led by executive director Zak Brown playing at the top of the ranking, notably against Red Bull, double title holder in the wake of the insatiable Max Verstappen.

But when the lights went out on Sunday at 2 p.m. and the 20 drivers set off on the Abu Dhabi circuit, few people imagined the trophy going anywhere other than Woking (United Kingdom), where the the stable. With a 21-point lead over Ferrari – a win is worth 25 points – McLaren had a comfortable lead going into the final race. The kind of mattress on which its drivers could rest against the potential shocks of the race. Especially since they could only come from the rear.

At the end of a perfectly controlled qualifying, McLaren had in fact taken possession of the first row, Lando Norris starting in front of Oscar Piastri. Brief, “a perfect day” according to the poleman, unable to keep up the comparison with Max Verstappen until the end of the season, but determined to console himself with an individual reward. The British wanted “win with panache” against the Ferraris, and believed to receive an unexpected helping hand from the Scuderia.

Ferrari with Hamilton for his revenge

Its driver Charles Leclerc actually experienced a little ordeal at the start of the weekend. Already assured of a ten-place penalty on the starting grid due to a battery change, the Monegasque had also seen his best lap canceled due to going out of track limits, forcing him to from 19^e place. But at the end of a spectacular comeback, he managed to secure a place on the podium alongside his teammate Carlos Sainz.

However, neither man managed to put pressure on Lando Norris, the clear winner, while his teammate Oscar Piastri experienced a chaotic race, marked by a collision with Max Verstappen on the first lap, followed by a penalty of 10 seconds for hitting Franco Colapinto's Williams. The 23-year-old Australian finally fails in 10^e place and can thank Norris for holding his place. The latter also has more ideas for 2025: “We want to continue to win the constructors’ title and I want to win the drivers’ title. I made some mistakes this year, but I learned a lot. I'm as happy now as I am excited for next year. »

A pure product of the Ferrari academy, Charles Leclerc will have to wait at least one more year to offer his team a constructor's title that it has been waiting for since 2008. Next season, he will benefit from choice reinforcement in his team. quest, in the person of Lewis Hamilton. The Briton ended on Sunday a journey started in 2013 with Mercedes, and paved with six world championship titles – he also won one with McLaren in 2008. If the end of the adventure was less rich in success, despite a nice 4^e place in Abu Dhabi, the driver, who will celebrate his 40th birthday on January 7, still has ambition, and will now evolve under the colors of the Scuderia. We will find him dressed all in red in Melbourne, the venue for the kick-off of the 2025 season, in the heart of March.