Lando Norris gained the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for McLaren and with it secured the constructors’ championship for his crew, their first since 1998. In a tense race within the season finale, Norris needed to beat Ferrari on his personal from pole after his teammate Oscar Piastri was all however faraway from the struggle on the primary lap, hit by Max Verstappen.
Norris held his nerve in opposition to a decided effort from the Scuderia, who did all they might with Carlos Sainz in second and Charles Leclerc in third. Lewis Hamilton, in his last race for Mercedes, sealed an excellent comeback drive to take fourth from sixteenth on the grid.
McLaren held all of the playing cards stepping into to the race on the Yas Marina circuit, with a 21-point lead over Ferrari and the entrance row of the grid, however closing it out proved a high-pressure job that the crew and Norris dealt with very nicely when Piastri’s half within the problem ended inside seconds of the off, spun out to final place at flip one by an over bold Verstappen, who completed sixth. Piastri did his greatest to fightback and completed in tenth.
For McLaren it was an immense achievement. The crew’s final constructors’ title was gained by Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard earlier than both of their present drivers had been born. They did take the drivers’ title in 1999 with Häkkinen and Hamilton in 2008 however since then they’ve endured the toughest spell within the historical past of the British marque.
This long-awaited ninth title brings McLaren equal with the 9 scored by Williams, who took their final championship in 1997, solely Ferrari have extra with 16. It additionally ends the Purple Bull and Mercedes hegemony over the title which has stood since Brawn final gained it in 2009.
This yr they surpassed Purple Bull and Ferrari by occurring to overturn a 115-point deficit with the upgrades they delivered to the Miami Grand Prix proving vastly efficient and propelling Norris in to the title struggle till he was denied by Verstappen in Las Vegas. But as a driver pairing, Norris and Piastri have persistently introduced success. They’ve taken six wins and 14 podiums between them whereas the crew have continued to develop their automotive in what’s now an enormously tight contest on the entrance of the grid.
They’ve been discovered wanting once in a while operationally, and had been maybe too sluggish to prioritise Norris’s title problem, however have nonetheless carried out exceptionally nicely to disclaim Purple Bull and see off Ferrari who’ve closed with a really aggressive automotive.
Hamilton known as time on his exceptional profession at Mercedes – he will be part of Ferrari subsequent yr – with a feisty drive from sixteenth. Not maybe the celebratory affair he and the crew had hoped for however a sometimes dedicated and hard-fought run from the seven-time champion.
The 39-year-old joined Mercedes in 2013 from McLaren, a transfer many thought-about foolhardy however was proved to have been an impressed resolution. Over the following 12 seasons and 246 races, he claimed six titles, 84 wins, 153 podiums and 78 pole positions with the crew. That it has closed with Mercedes struggling because the regulation adjustments of 2022 tarnishes neither Hamilton’s nor his crew’s status.
Lastly ending the connection in Abu Dhabi was clearly an emotional second, an opportunity, as issues got here to a halt on the start-finish straight alongside the highest three drivers, to recognise the tip of an period.
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Norris as soon as extra demonstrated that he can do the job when the stakes are excessive. He held his lead into flip one however Piastri was clipped by a fast-starting Verstappen who dived late up the within at flip one. Piastri spun however managed to proceed in the back of the sphere and Verstappen was penalised with a 10sec stop-go for inflicting an accident. Leclerc had made an excellent begin transferring as much as eighth by the tip of the primary lap from nineteenth on the grid, whereas Hamilton superior from sixteenth to twelfth.
These had been tense moments for McLaren with Sainz in second and Piastri out of the factors after which having to pit early to vary tyres he had flat-spotted when attempting to go and bumping into the rear of Franco Colapinto. Worse was to observe as Piastri acquired a 10sec penalty for hitting Colapinto, all however ending his contribution to the title struggle.
Norris nevertheless was unperturbed and started opening a lead of greater than two seconds, and with McLaren’s hopes all now on him, he maintained his management as he calmly managed his tyres within the opening stint.
For his or her solely stops, Sainz got here in on lap 26 and McLaren responded a lap later with Norris. His crew held their nerve beneath stress to drag off a fast, clear cease and he emerged having maintained his lead over the Ferrari. It was a telling second and because the laps counted down, Norris had a snug 5 second lead which he was in a position to keep with cool management to take the flag and the title.
George Russell was fifth for Mercedes, Pierre Gasly seventh for Alpine, Nico Hülkenberg eighth for Haas and Fernando Alonso in ninth for Aston Martin.
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