Lando Norris took the F1 Abu Dhabi GP and with it McLaren secured the 2024 constructors’ championship ahead of Ferrari drivers.
It was not the cleanest of starts in F1 Abu Dhabi GP at Yas Marina Circuit where McLaren’s Lando Norris led the way from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, but McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen made contact, for the Australian to be spun around at Turn 1.
Piastri left space for Verstappen to try a move on the inside but they touched which dropped the Dutchman down the order, while the Australian was last. This allowed Alpine’s Pierre Gasly to third from Mercedes’ George Russell and Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg in the Top 5 places.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was up to sixth along with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc moved to eighth from 19th on the grid. The Top 10 was rounded out by Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Visa Cash App RB’s Liam Lawson, with Verstappen just behind him.
The other Red Bull of Sergio Perez was spun around later on Lap 1 by Kick Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas, which ended his grand prix early. The Virtual Safety Car was deployed, as replays showed Piastri bumping Williams’ Franco Colapinto, who had a puncture and was forced to pit early.
Piastri also dived in for an early stop as he was handed a 10s time penalty for causing a collision along with Verstappen and Bottas. At the front, Norris maintained his lead from Sainz, as Gasly held off Russell in the fight for third. Hulkenberg stood fifth from Leclerc after 12 laps into the grand prix.
The Monegasque made quick work of Magnussen, Alonso and Hulkenberg. He was being followed by Verstappen, who cleared the trio as well before the pit stop sequence. At the fag end of the Top 10, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton – on the hard compound – passed Lawson for 10th.
After a penalty for Bottas, there was another one for teammate Zhou Guanyu, who was handed a 5s time penalty for false start. Replays showed a bad start to Visa Cash App RB’s Yuki Tsunoda, who dropped to the back of the field. His clutch seemingly got jammed which hurt him.
Things got settled nearing midway in the grand prix where some decided to stop early, while rest went deep. There was a problem in the pits for Lawson, where the left-hand wheel wasn’t installed properly. He had to come back again to fix it up to drop down the order.
The Kiwi was handed a 10s stop and go penalty. A lap later, Williams asked Colapinto to retire the car. At the front, Norris held onto the lead after their pit stop from Sainz, with Verstappen and Hamilton extending their stints, but the Dutchman finally pitted on Lap 30.
He had to serve his 10s penalty which dropped him outside the Top 10. Leclerc, meanwhile, got through Russell in the pits, but the Brit had fresher compound at his disposal. There were late dramas after contact between Magnussen and Bottas, which ended the Finn’s final race with the team.
Bottas braked hard at the braking zone but couldn’t avoid a turning Magnussen, where their wheels touched, with the collision under investigation. At the front, Norris had a comfortable lead over Sainz, with Leclerc maintaining third from Russell after Hamilton stopped to switch to medium.
He was up to fifth after clearing both Gasly and Hulkenberg, with Verstappen following suit in sixth but the Dutchman took a lot more time than the Brit. Williams’ Alexander ALbon hung on to ninth from Tsunoda but Alonso managed to clear him with 12 laps remaining.
Piastri tried a move on Tsunoda but had to back off on the run-off. He came back on him to take the place, but the Japanese driver didn’t give up to retake the place just outside the Top 10. The Australian finally got through the VCARB driver in the chase of Alonso for a Top 10 spot.
The Spaniard cleared Albon for ninth, leaving the Thai to fend off against Piastri for the final point. The Australian caught him quick to take 10th eventually. Norris, meanwhile, did all he had to do to win F1 race in Abu Dhabi GP and with it, McLaren took the constructors’ title for the first time since 1998.
Despite the throw from Ferrari, McLaren took the title by 14 points with Sainz and Leclerc rounding the podium positions in a spirited drive from both. Russell had fourth but not on the final lap when Hamilton cut a 14s gap to secure fourth from his teammate to end his stint with Mercedes.
Verstappen was sixth from Gasly, who helped Alpine to take sixth in the standings from Haas, where Hulkenberg was eighth ahead of Alonso and Piastri in the Top 10. Albon was 11th from Tsunoda, Guanyu, Stroll, Alpine’s Jack Doohan and Magnussen to round out the 16 runners.
Lawson stopped on the side of track with couple of laps remaining due to a problem and was classified 17th but ended three laps behind, while everyone from Albon until Magnussen were one lap down. The Dane took the fastest lap after stopping late to switch to the soft tyre.
UPDATE: Bottas was handed 5-place grid penalty for causing a collision with Magnussen and three penalty points. The Finn will have to serve it in the next race he races in, but for now he doesn’t have a contract to race and serve the penalty.
It was his second penalty of the grand prix after getting one for hitting Perez. Here: https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2024%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20Infringement%20-%20Car%2077%20-%20Causing%20a%20collision%20(2nd).pdf
Stroll, meanwhile, was handed a 5s time penalty for leaving the track for more than four times. It didn’t change his finishing position. Here: https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2024%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20Infringement%20-%20Car%2018%20-%20Leaving%20the%20track%20without%20a%20justifiable%20reason%20multiple%20times.pdf
Magnussen was let off for alleged practice start from the pitlane just before the lap to the grid. Here: https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2024%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20Decision%20-%20Car%2020%20-%20Alleged%20failure%20to%20follow%20Race%20Director’s%20instructions%20(Practice%20start).pdf
Championship: https://www.fia.com/sites/default/files/decision-document/2024%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Grand%20Prix%20-%20Championship%20Points.pdf
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