Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Race: Norris brilliantly hands McLaren the title

There were a lot of emotions on the grid before the lights went out. It’s the end of many adventures. Many drivers were wearing special helmets for the last Grand Prix of this absolutely crazy season. Franco Colapinto and Valtteri Bottas expressed their gratitude to their respective teams on the radio.

This is the last Grand Prix, but there are still a few stakes. To win its first title since 2008, Scuderia Ferrari had to score 22 more points than McLaren. The other duel to end this year was of course between Alpine and Haas. Thanks to their double podium in Brazil and the great form of Pierre Gasly, the French team managed to reach sixth position, but the American team seems to have the pace in Abu Dhabi to regain the advantage.

The start of the race is particularly tense.

Decidedly, this season has been dramatic until the end. From the first corner, an incident occurred between Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri. After a superb start, the Dutchman immediately moved alongside the Australian to snatch the second position. Carrying a bit too much speed into the corner, the Red Bull understeered into the McLaren. This contact sent both drivers spinning. Oscar Piastri did not hide his frustration on the radio, describing this overtaking attempt, with a deadpan tone, as a «champion’s move». Found guilty of this accident, Verstappen received a 10-second penalty.

Oscar Piastri, forced to start from last position, was not out of the woods. After being the victim of contact, the McLaren driver became the culprit when he collided with the rear wing of Franco Colapinto’s Williams. In a moment of confusion, the two drivers made contact on the first long straight of the circuit. The Argentinian punctured a tire while Piastri was penalized with a 10-second penalty. This double incident for Piastri made him almost useless for his team in the fight for the constructors’ championship.

McLaren VS Ferrari

This scenario was all the more catastrophic for McLaren as Charles Leclerc had almost erased his grid penalty and poor qualifying session thanks to the chaos in the pack. By the end of the first lap, Charles Leclerc had gained 11 positions and was now in eighth place. While Andrea Stella would now have to fight with only one car, Frédéric Vasseur had both his drivers in the Top 10 to turn the situation around in the team standings. By the 12th lap of the race, the Monegasque had returned to the top five.

Despite the crazy comeback of their star driver and the very fast pace of Carlos Sainz, Norris simply remained unshakeable. Never letting go of the lead, the young British driver delivered, when needed, one of his most solid races of the season to give his team its first title since 1998. After 6 more or less frustrating seasons, Lando Norris’s patience and hard work have finally been rewarded with this victory.

Gasly takes the scalp of Haas and Hülkenberg

The start of the race was marked by Pierre Gasly’s clever defense. On Saturday evening, the Frenchman learned that he would start from 5th position instead of 6th due to the penalty received by Nico Hülkenberg for overtaking two cars in the pit lane. The Normandy native then took advantage of the collision between Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri to temporarily rise to third position. He was long chased by George Russell. Managing to block the inside at turn 9, Gasly managed to keep the Mercedes behind him for 15 laps.

After passing his first relay in defense, the Alpine driver switched to attack mode. Getting rid of the two Racing Bulls of Tsunoda and Lawson, Gasly then understood that his battle was not against the top teams. Letting Leclerc, Russell, Verstappen, or Hamilton pass, this management of his race allowed him to keep fresh tires and keep Nico Hülkenberg behind him. By finishing ahead of the German driver, the Frenchman offers Alpine the 6th position in the constructors’ championship. A real achievement for the Enstone structure which was the worst team on the grid in the early Grand Prix races of the season. This seventh position also allows him to obtain the 10th position in the drivers’ championship.

The end of an era

Since 2022, Lewis Hamilton has not had an easy life. Mercedes has never managed to perfectly tame this new regulation. Despite two wins, this season has been relatively frustrating for the seven-time world champion. For his 246th and final Grand Prix with the German team, it was important not to leave by the back door. Starting only 16th on the grid, Lewis Hamilton made a dazzling comeback. During a mesmerizing final lap, the future Ferrari driver extracted the best from his medium tires to stylishly overtake his garage neighbor, George Russell.