Lando Norris ended McLaren’s 26-year drought without a constructors’ championship by winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final race of the Formula One season, on Sunday.
The race was marked by a chaotic first lap as reigning four-time world champion Max Verstappen (Red Bull) collided with Oscar Piastri (McLaren). The latter ended up in last position, so that McLaren’s hopes only rested on Norris.
“Amazing, well done everyone, [je suis] so proud of you all. You deserve it. It’s been a special year. Next year will be mine,” said Norris, who finished second in the drivers’ standings, at the end of the race.
Norris finished ahead of the two Ferrari drivers, Carlos Sainz Jr. and Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque got on the podium after starting on 19e rang.
If Sainz was never able to get close to Norris, the final laps were nevertheless stressful for McLaren director Zak Brown, who was well aware that a mechanical glitch on Norris’s side would have given the title to Ferrari.
“It was the most miserable two hours of my life,” Brown joked while waiting for the trophy ceremony.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton finished fourth in his final race with Mercedes, overtaking teammate George Russell on the final lap. He will replace Sainz at Ferrari from next year.
“It was a dream, but together we believed in it,” Hamilton told his race engineer, Peter Bonnington, on the radio.
Russell finished fifth, Verstappen sixth and Pierre Gasly seventh for Alpine. Nico Hulkenberg finished eighth in his last race with Haas as he will join the ranks of Sauber for next season.
Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) crossed the finish line in ninth position, ahead of Piastri.
After climbing to ninth place at the end of the first round, Quebecer Lance Stroll ranked 14e.
“I had a good start, but the car did not have the necessary performance to fight today,” Stroll said, according to an Aston Martin press release. After the stops, we didn’t have the pace to get back up. »
Unable to crack the top 10 during the last 11 events of the campaign, the 26-year-old Montrealer concluded the year at 13e rank, with 24 points. Alonso totaled 70 points, in ninth place.
“It wasn’t the season we were hoping for, but we will do everything to come back stronger next season. Thanks to the team for all their hard work during a difficult year. »
The return of McLaren
This title puts an end to an improbable turnaround in fortunes for McLaren. While the team is one of the most successful in F1 history, it finished ninth only seven years ago.
When Norris began his F1 journey with the team in 2019, he did no better than sixth position.
The Woking, UK-based team got off to a poor start to the season, but a series of upgrades to the car at the Miami GP immediately paid off. Norris took the opportunity to win his first career race.
Verstappen was crowned world champion for a fourth time, but Red Bull had to settle for third place in the teams’ standings due to Sergio Perez’s lackluster results throughout the year.
Norris has inched closer to Verstappen over the course of the season, but the Dutchman’s rain-affected victory in Brazil dealt a major blow to the Briton’s hopes. Verstappen was crowned champion in Las Vegas, allowing McLaren and its drivers to focus on the constructors’ championship.
McLaren ultimately finished the season with 14 points more than Ferrari.
