
McLaren scored their first constructors championship since 1998 as Lando Norris delivered a commanding victory in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The drama in the season finale at Yas Marina began, when Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri collided in Turn 1. Both drivers were sent spinning to the back of the field and Verstappen later penalized, effectively ending his Red Bull title bid.
Norris dominated from pole position, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz second. Norris ran flawless pace, working his way through traffic and pressure to win by 5.8 seconds. Charles Leclerc of Ferrari completed the day with an incredible drive to charge from the back of the grid to third, but it was not enough to close the 14 point gap to McLaren in the constructors’ championship.
In a thriller of the final race of Lewis Hamilton’s time at Mercedes, the future seven time world champion beat out teammate George Russell for fourth place on the final lap. Pierre Gasly gave Alpine sixth in the constructors’ championship with a seventh place in Saturday’s Russian GP, which also promoted Verstappen into sixth place after finishing sixth himself.
There was drama aplenty to retirements and penalties, with Valtteri Bottas calling time on his F1 career after a clash with Kevin Magnussen, who recorded the fastest lap on his last F1 race in Paris. The race featured penalties for Verstappen, Piastri and others, and served as a reminder just how high the stakes will be at the finale.
But McLaren’s resurgence was historic for the team and Norris and Piastri had been a formidable duo throughout the season. The curtain comes down to an action packed year and 2024 season come calling with even bigger expectations and new rivalries waiting to light up.