Race Report: Lando wins Abu Dhabi GP, McLaren win title

Lando Norris and McLaren clinch the constructor’s championship with a dominant win in Abu Dhabi. Lando did everything he needed to do—hounded by a brace of Ferrari’s—to help McLaren secure their first constructor’s title in 26 years!

Lando led Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc home with both Ferrari drivers given it their all and hoping for some some trouble, any trouble, for Lando Norris but it wasn’t to be. McLaren earn the constructor’s championship in fine style with a win in Abu Dhabi.

Win

Big win for Lando Norris and McLaren for securing both the win and constructor’s championship. A huge win for the men and women in Woking for reversing their fortune over 18 months and winning the title! It’s their first title in 26 years! A team most deserving. Big congratulations to the men and women in Woking, Oscar, Lando and Zak Brown!

A win for Ferrari who managed to climb to second in the constructor’s championship wit Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc on the podium. Sure, they wanted to beat McLaren but like McLaren, they too rose from the ashes to mount a fierce challenge in 2024. Abu Dhabi wasn’t the best track for them but they did managed to make a run at McLaren and covered the podium for a P2 and P3 finish.

A win for Lewis Hamilton and George Russell for a P4, P5 finish in a car that wasn’t that competitive in Abu Dhabi. Lewis’s recovery drive to P4 was a great champion’s drive and a good way to close out his career with the team.

A huge win for Pierre Gasly and Alpine finishing in P7! Pierre and the team reversed their fortunes and with his amazing run in Brazil and his P7 ahead of Nico Hulkenberg in Abu Dhabi, the team turned the final few races into a $50M payday! Such a massive improvement and great result for the team.

It may not feel like a win for Haas finishing in P7 for the constructor’s title but that is three places higher than last year and worth millions and this goes a long way to show that their decision to part company with their former team boss was the right move. Nico finished in P8 on Gasly’s tail nd Kevin down in P16 with the fastest lap of the race for good measure.

Fail

A fail for Red Bull as Sergio Perez ended early on track after being punted by Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen forcing a passing attempt on Oscar Piastri that just wasn’t on. They dropped to third in the constructor’s championship and Max finished in P6 after serving a 10s penalty for punting Oscar and nearly giving McLaren a heart attack in the process.

A fail for Valtteri Bottas who punted Sergio Perez and nearly ruined Kevin Magnussen’s race before retiring the car. Not a great way to exit his Formula 1 career.

A fail for RB with a retirement for Liam Lawson after a penalty for an unsafe release with a loose wheel and Yuki Tsunoda down in P12.

WTH

I am all about a nod and moment to honor Lewis Hamilton’s career ending with Mercedes. What a career it has been but the entire broadcast and fans were acting like he was retiring from the sport. He’ll be on the grid with Ferrari next year so not sure why the over-the-top praise session beyond celebrating his time with Mercedes.

Pirelli Report:

On the starting grid, 19 of the 20 drivers were on the Medium with only Hamilton opting for the Hard. The one-stop strategy proved to be quickest: of the top ten finishers, only Fernando Alonso (eighth for Aston Martin) made a two-stop work. Piastri also pitted twice but that was as a result of a collision with Verstappen at the first corner on the opening lap.

The longest stint overall was delivered by two specialists in this field, namely Alex Albon and Nico Hulkenberg, who did 45 laps on a set of Hards. As for the Medium, the prize goes to Max Verstappen, who split his race exactly in two, doing 29 laps on the C4 followed by the same number on the C3.

The C5’s appearance in the race came courtesy of Magnussen, who clearly only fitted it in order to set the fastest race lap, which he did both on his first set, used for a total of 25 laps and then on the second, fitted just for the last two laps.

Abu Dhabi GP Results: