Lando Norris won a tense, emotional, and incident-filled Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday, giving McLaren its first constructors’ championship in 26 years, while Lewis Hamilton finished a surprising fourth in his final race for Mercedes. The 25-year-old Norris finished 5.832 seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz and his teammate Charles Leclerc, putting an end to Ferrari’s title challenge on a night marked by accidents, penalties, and tantrums at the Yas Marina Circuit. “Papaya on top “Congratulations, everyone. Incredible. I am proud of you all. You all deserve it. It’s been a special one. “Next year will be my year, too.”
McLaren had not won the team title since 1998, the year before Norris was born, and began the day with a 21-point lead and a front-row lockout. Still, Oscar Piastri was sent spinning at the first curve after colliding with freshly crowned four-time champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull.
This buoyed Ferrari, with Leclerc starting 19th on the grid, and they mounted a bold albeit unsuccessful attempt for victory, finishing second and third ahead of Hamilton, who passed teammate George Russell on the penultimate lap.
Russell finished fifth, ahead of Verstappen, who received a 10-second penalty for his crash with Piastri, and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, with Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg in eighth place. Fernando Alonso was ninth for Aston Martin, while Piastri finished 10th in the second McLaren.
In hot, dry, and clear conditions, Norris made a clean start from his eighth pole of the season, leading into Turn One, where Verstappen attacked Piastri on the inside and collided with his vehicle, sending both spinning.
Piastri waited to restart on the 20th and last. Still, Verstappen climbed back to 11th when teammate Sergio Perez’s wretched season ended with a spin at Turn Six after colliding with Valtteri Bottas’ Sauber. Leclerc jumped from nineteenth to eighth with a spectacular push on the first lap.