Norris holds nerve to end McLaren's 26-year drought

There would be no second chances this time. Lando Norris has been prone to in-race lapses of judgement and concentration in 2024 but here, with a 26-year hoodoo solely in his hands, the Bristolian gave his beloved McLaren a long-awaited F1 constructors’ championship at the season finale.

- KIERAN JACKSON

Norris, pole-sitter and the quickest man all weekend, kept it clean and avoided trouble – where his teammate Oscar Piastri did not – to win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and seal the teams’ title for the papaya. Ferrari did their best, with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc both on the podium, but ultimately a 14-point advantage was enough.

The last time McLaren sealed the constructors’ championship, Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard were the drivers in the 1998 MP4/13 cockpit. Both were present here in Abu Dhabi, as one of F1’s biggest teams ended their long wait in the MCL38.

As for Lewis Hamilton, in his 246th and final race for Mercedes, a trademark charge through the field. Starting in 16th, the seven-time world champion ended the greatest driver-team partnership in F1 history with a fourth-place finish, passing teammate George Russell on the last lap with a stunning overtake.

After the chequered flag, he parked his car on the home straight, waved to the crowd and said his goodbyes. Ferrari, and all the glamour that goes with it, awaits Hamilton as he heads into his 40s.