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McLaren party in Bahrain as Lando Norris leads team to first constructors’ title since 1998
Key moments
After a 26-year wait, it was only natural that the victory celebrations would be extravagant. Possibly no one expected them to be in Bahrain though.
After a couple of hours spent dousing each other in champagne at the Yas Marina circuit following Lando Norris’s victory in the 2024 season finale in Abu Dhabi, a victory which secured McLaren their first constructors’ title since 1998, it is understood the entire team jetted off to the Gulf kingdom – roughly an hour away – to party with the Crown Prince. Bahrain being a majority owner of McLaren. Well, this is Formula One.
Wherever they were, it promised to get very messy. “Me and Zak have already said we’re going to get absolutely hammered tonight,” Norris confided to Nico Rosberg of his plans for a night of debauchery with McLaren chief executive Zak Brown after stepping out of his car at the end of 58 laps of unexpected tension.
Norris, who was not even born the last time McLaren won the title, deserved to let his hair down. Or his mini-mullet, or whatever he calls it. This has been an emotional rollercoaster of a season for the Bristol-born driver, who was widely criticised for frittering away too many points as he missed out on the drivers’ title, but who has delivered some brilliant performances. This being one of them.
Holding a 21-point lead over Ferrari at the start of the day, and with Norris on pole and team-mate Oscar Piastri just behind him in second place on the grid, McLaren held all the aces. Especially given the fact Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was 19th on the grid after a disastrous qualifying session on Saturday.
But a first-corner collision between Piastri and newly crowned four-time world champion Max Verstappen – for which the Red Bull driver was handed a 10-second penalty – sent the Australian tumbling to the back of the field and he spent the rest of the race trying to get back in the points.
Leclerc, meanwhile, produced an extraordinary drive, surging from 19th on the grid to third, just behind his team-mate Carlos Sainz.
All of which left Norris under massive pressure. Any mistake, any mechanical issue, any safety car, which McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said was actually McLaren’s “biggest fear” as Ferrari might have split their strategies and put one of their cars on fresh rubber, and McLaren might have ended up losing. Norris, though, remained cool and his fourth win of the season, by six seconds from Sainz, was enough to clinch the championship by 14 points.
Behind them, Lewis Hamilton produced what his team principal Toto Wolff called “the drive of a champion” in his final race for Mercedes, powering through the field from 16th to fourth. It was a stunning turnaround after his nightmare qualifying session on Saturday when he was sent out far too late in Q1 and then collected a plastic bollard under his car.
The 39-year-old raised eyebrows by turning up before the race dressed head-to-toe in red, the colours of his new team Ferrari. But he was note-perfect in the race, passing team-mate George Russell on the very last lap before carrying out some “doughnuts” on track as the crowds chanted “Lewis, Lewis”.
The seven-time world champion, who had to make up 14 seconds on Russell with 15 laps to go, said he had been inspired by a message from long-time race engineer Pete ‘Bono’ Bonnington, who is not accompanying him to Maranello. “I think when [Bono] said it was ‘Hammer Time’ I was like, ‘that’s the last time I’m going to hear that’. It really clicked for me in that moment,” Hamilton said.
Wolff was effusive in his praise. “Lewis, that was the drive of a world champion,” the Austrian told him at the finish. “Amazing.”
“Thanks Toto,” Hamilton replied. “That was fun. We dreamed a lot, but together we believed. A leap of faith turned into a journey in the history books. From the bottom of my heart, all the best. I love you guys.”
Wolff replied: “We love you too and you will always be part of this family. And if we can’t win, you can win.”
Hamilton now has to do the equivalent of a global tour before he can go on his holidays. Kuala Lumpur for sponsors Petronas, Stuttgart for Mercedes-Benz, Brixworth for the engine guys and finally Brackley. He will start at Ferrari in the new year.
It is going to be some season, with Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull all looking capable of knocking McLaren off their perch.
The Woking team fully deserved this one, though. A ninth world title, 26 years after their eighth, is an incredible accomplishment for a team who were on their knees just a few short years ago. You could see what it meant to them. As a succession of well-wishers went to congratulate them in their paddock home – from Christian Horner to Sir Jackie Stewart, who presented Brown with a bottle of bubbly – the tension was still plastered all over their faces. “The worst two hours of my life,” the American admitted.
“I felt sick,” agreed the Crown Prince. “But I walked to the back of the grid before the race and thought ‘That’s where we have been in the dark years’. In this game you can never give up. If you do, you are goners.”
For Norris, the hope is that this season, and the way he has ended it, will lead to a breakthrough on a personal level. He said he was confident he had “learnt a lot”.
“You all deserve this. Thank you so much. It’s been a special year,” Norris told his team over the radio after taking the chequered flag. Then he added, bullishly: “Next year is going to be my year, too.”
We shall see about that. And sooner than you think. There are only 96 days until it all starts up again in Australia.
More from McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown
“That was the worst two hours of my life by far. Lando drove brilliantly. Unfortunate what happened to Oscar at the start. I think I was the only one ready to have a heart attack during the race. That race, he carried us and to note make any mistakes... he drove flawlessly. Next, try and repeat constructors and try and get the drivers’. I let Oscar and Lando figure that one out.”
He has many words of praise for team principal Andrea Stella and says he will lead the team in their partying tonight.
Final constructor standings
Just 14 points the difference in the end between McLaren and Ferrari. Or two per cent. Small margins.
I think Haas should be proud of their season despite losing out to Alpine. And Alpine should be proud to finish sixth after their disastrous start. As a works team they should be doing far better than that, but it was a fine comeback led by Pierre Gasly.
Toto Wolff signs of to Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton had been on the radio for a good time offering his thanks and thoughts before as he signs off a record-breaking partnership.
“We love you too and you will always be part of this family. And if we can’t win, you can win.”
Hamilton is back in the Mercedes garage saying goodbye to the team, individually it seems.
Race winner Lando Norris speaks
“I’m so proud of everyone. It’s been a lovely journey and to end the season like this is perfect it’s been a tough one but for us to win a constructors after 26 years is pretty special. Me and Zak have already said we are gong to get absolutely hammered tonight, so I am excited. It’s going to be a good night. I made my mistakes this year but I’ve learnt a lot from Max and my competitors around me.”
...and here is Carlos Sainz, who finished second
“Obviously a bit of a bittersweet feeling. In the end I think P2 was the best we could do today given the pace of Lando in the McLaren. They just got a bit out of reach [in the second stint]. Congratulations of course to McLaren, they deserve this. From our side I think we can be proud of the effort we put together.”
“Emotional in-lap with my engineer but at the same time very grateful to be part of this team for four years.”
Charles Leclerc reacts after a brilliant third
He started 19th!
“I knew I had to be very aggressive and in lap one take all the risks to gain as many places as possible... unfortunately we were just starting too further back to do anything better than what we’ve done today. It hurts because when the season is so close... we’ve just come short of our goal but at the end we’ve tried everything.
“Lewis has achieved so much in the sport and it will be a big motivation but for now I am thinking about the past years I did with Carlos. I really hoped we could finish these four years together with a title. I will have four or five days to reset and start thinking about next year.”
Hamilton looking emotional
After finishing a few donuts on the grid he crouches down on the ground on the grid, next to his W15. He gives it a pat and exhales. The W15 has delivered him two victories.
He offers some words of congratulation to Zak Brown and McLaren. “I’m so happy for you guys,” he says.
Sainz offers some words of thanks to Ferrari
He finishes a strong second in his final race before moving to Williams next year. It’s a double podium for Ferrari, who will be targetting double glory in 2025. A poor race for Red Bull with Verstappen sixth after another 10-second penalty and two penalty points on his licence.
Seventh for Gasly secures sixth for Alpine. He has been superb in the final third of the season.
LANDO NORRIS WINS THE 2024 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX
McLaren are constructors champions for the first time since 1998 and Lewis Hamilton has overtaken George Russell on the final lap for fourth! It’s not enough for a podium but that is a drive that is more fitting of his time at Mercedes. All the way back from 16th on the grid. It means he outscores Russell by two points over their three seasons at Mercedes if my maths are correct.
FINAL LAP
Norris begins his final tour of the race and of 2024. Hamilton will be right on the back of Russell at the end of the lap. We have yellow flags in sector two, though, as Liam Lawson has stopped. That is on the back straight. Lawson has retired and has been moved out of the way.
Not sure if Hamilton has this one, actually. DRS disabled in the second sector. That will hamper him.
He closes up at turn nine...
Lap 51 of 48 - Norris cruising now
Hamilton crusing up to Russell, taking nearly a second from Russell and 0.7sec from Leclerc. I think a podium is too much to ask unless Leclerc’s tyres give up but fourth is likely for Hamilton.
Sainz says he thinks he has a puncture but is told that everything is OK. That would help Hamilton’s quest for a podium. His pace is not great but is not awful.
Lap 48 of 58 - Tell you what, Hamilton is flying here
The pace of Sainz, Leclerc and Russell is not great. Hamilton is at least half a second quicker than all of them and was 1.3sec faster than Russell, who has finally lapped Magnussen.
10 laps to go and 8.5sec the gap between the two with Sainz now 5.3sec up the road.
Lap 42 of 58 - Hamilton overtakes Gasly for fifth
George Russell is 14.4sec ahead with Leclerc a further 4.4sec ahead of him. Not sure he has the pace to get either of them, let alone both, for that final podium. But you can be sure as well he will be pushing. He does have an eight-lap tyre advantage over Russell and 14-lap advantage over Leclerc. 0.8sec faster than his team-mate last time, so you never know.
A sad end to an F1 career for Perez? Probably
“Always a bit of a sad one when you get a message during a race saying “X driver is in the interview pen now”. We got that message from Sergio Perez’s press officer about 10 mins into this grand prix. He would have had to go and do it with the race going on in the background, with hardly anyone to speak to. Probably the Mexican’s last interview pen in Formula One. Rumours abound that Liam Lawson will be announced at the back end of the week (once Red Bull’s homecoming party back at the factory is out of the way).”
Lap 41 of 58 - Norris takes 0.9sec from Sainz
4.6sec the lead now. Sainz did lap Zhou on the last tour so perhaps that is why. Norris should have this sewn up though. Gasly holding strong in fifth but has Hamilton 1.1sec behind now that the Briton has overtaken Hulkenberg for sith. Verstappen not holding pace with Hamilton currently.
Lap 31 of 58 - Verstappen is Verstappening
“Can we ask for 20 seconds? Stupid idiots,” he says of the stewards.
Yellow flags as Valtteri Bottas limps around the track with a front-right puncture. He collided with Magnussen. Locking up at the hairpin, not intending to crash into the Haas but once he put the brakes on there was no other outcome.
Plenty of debris out there. Bottas retires from the race after that.
Safety Car here?
Lap 26 of 58 - In Norris comes...
It was a quick stop. Good work if all the wheels are on...
Will that be enough for him to retain the lead? Yes, it is. But the gap is down to 1.5sec in very short order. Not enough for Sainz to have DRS yet. But he will have warmer tyres than the McLaren.
Leclerc told to go onto Plan C. Russell comes out behind Russell.
Lap 24 of 58 - Sainz cuts Norris’s lead
Not by a great deal, just a tenth on the last lap. Leclerc gets Gasly for sixth but will the Frenchman return the favour down the following straight? No.
Bad news for Lawson. He says his wheels are not properly on. Well, he isn’t exactly slowing down out there. Will he come back in? Surely. He does.
“Mate, the car dropped,” he says. I assume referring to the pit stop and why he went when the wheels were not on properly.
Lap 22 of 58 - Norris leads by 4.2sec ahead of Sainz
A two-horse race for the win currently, really. Piastri is up into 13th though does have to serve a 10-second time penalty. Not sure points are impossible but they will be very difficult from here without some luck for the Australian.
Norris now nearly a pit-stop’s worth of time ahead of Russell. Will McLaren wait for a slot to put him out back into? Or just follow Sainz? Sainz takes a couple of tenths out of Norris’s lead.
Lap 15 of 58 - Verstappen struggling with his tyres
Says his front getting too hot. Norris leads Sainz by 3.7sec with Russell a distant third and some 10.5sec behind Sainz. Hamilton now up to sixth as a few pit stops of those ahead of him have started. Albon faces no further investigation for false start but Zhou gets a penalty for the same offence.
Lap 12 of 58 - Verstappen vs Alonso coming up
Leclerc battling Hulkenberg and is on his final warning for track limits. The Ferrari driver is now up into fifth. Hamilton says he has “no pace”.
Verstappen gets Alonso towards the end of the lap and the Dutchman now up into seventh, though his 10-second penalty would drop him to 11th currently.
Albon noted for a false start. As is Zhou. Slow stop for Magnussen.
Lap 11 of 58 - Norris now needs to bring this home
McLaren currently scoring 25 points, Ferrari 26. That is not enough for Ferrari to overtake McLaren and win the title but if Norris were to hit trouble then that changes. Leclerc definitely on for a podium here, perhaps even the most likely man to take that third spot.
Lap 6 of 58 - 10-second penalty for Verstappen
Looking at the replay from Verstappen’s onboard I think that was fair. He says he was “all the way up the inside” but he was not. His front wheels were a metre or two behind Piastri’s. Not Piastri’s fault at all, far too optimistic.
“Move of a world champion, that one,” Piastri says. Not sure if he means that he can make that move because the title is already wrapped up or if he was being sarcastic.
Lap 2 of 58 - Piastri/Verstappen incident noted
Piastri did leave the door wide open and Verstappen tried to take the chance. Not sure if Piastri knew he was there or not.
We have a Virtual Safety Car now because Perez has stopped by the side of the track. It looked like it came as Verstappen put one up the inside of Liam Lawson.
This is probably, sadly, the way that Sergio Perez’s Red Bull and F1 career ends...
Here’s the top 10:
- NOR
- SAI
- GAS
- RUS
- HUL
- ALO
- MAG
- LEC
- STR
- LAW
Verstappen 11th, Hamilton 12th. Piastri 19th and last on the road.
THE 2024 ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX IS GO!
Norris leads the field into the first corner but Verstappen and Piastri collide at turn one! Not what McLaren wanted. Piastri was on the outside and didn’t give up the spot and Verstappen did not either!
Whose fault? Not sure yet.
Piastri has dropped down to the back of the pack, Verstappen is down in 11th. Perez has had a spin at the chicane in the middle of the lap. McLaren look like having a more difficult afternoon than they had hoped.
Leclerc up to 12th...
Could this be Valtteri Bottas’s last race in F1?
The 10-time grand prix winner is without a seat for next year and, as it stands, there is just one to fill: RB. I think Red Bull will end up ditching Perez but I think they will choose Liam Lawson for that seat. Would Bottas be a better choice?
Either way it would be nice for him to score some points here. He has not managed that in 2024 yet.
News: Ben Sulayem’s proposed new role in FIA ethics complaints procedure criticised
“David Richards, the chairman of Motorsport UK, has expressed concern about proposed changes to the FIA’s statutes, which he believes will make motorsport’s governing body less transparent and accountable.
“The list of revisions to the FIA’s statutes will be voted on by FIA member clubs at next week’s Annual General Meeting. The proposed changes would ensure that any ethics complaints were overseen by the FIA president and president of its senate, who is one of his close allies, rather than the senate itself. And they would remove the power of the audit committee to investigate financial issues independently.”
Latest constructor standings
Almost as interesting as the battle for the title is the fight between Haas, Alpine and RB for sixth. Alpine currently lead the way with Haas just five points behind. Probably too much of a job for RB to get there today given they trail by 13 points and Alpine start fifth with Gasly and Haas seventh with Hulkenberg.
Hamilton takes a shot at Mercedes?
“Just heading to the grid. The main talking point of the day so far? Lewis Hamilton’s decision to turn up today dressed head to toe in red. Was that in protest at Mercedes’ qualifying error last night which saw him exit in Q1? Who knows but it was pretty provocative from the soon-to-be Ferrari driver.
“Otherwise, there’s a very end-of-term feel to proceedings here. With McLaren almost home and dry in the constructors’ there isn’t a huge amount riding on the race. Russell just behind Verstappen is quite fun given their shenanigans this week.”
Excited about F1 in 2025?
You should be. The cars next year will very much be a carry-over from 2024 with no significant changes, which means the competitive order is unlikely to change enormously. This is how close it has been since the summer break:
49 points separate the top six drivers in the last nine rounds.
Six world titles and 84 race wins — so much for Hamilton’s ‘awful mistake’ joining Mercedes
“Six drivers’ world championships, eight constructors’ titles, 84 wins, 78 pole positions, 153 podium finishes and 12 years later, it is fair to say the gamble paid off. Hamilton and Mercedes have been the most successful driver-and-team partnership in F1 history.
“It is easy to forget now, with the benefit of hindsight, just how shocking Hamilton’s move was at the time. It was seismic. Mercedes had won just one race in 50 since their return as a full works team three years earlier, and early Twitter adopters were not the only ones sceptical about it.”
Current driver standings
Was is there to play for?
Leclerc can overtake Norris for second but that is a big ask. Sainz can overtake Piastri for third but, again, the same applies. Sainz cannot finish lower than fifth. Russell is almost certainly secure in sixth unless Hamilton wins and he does not score two points. Perez is eighth. Gasly can dislodge Hulkenberg for 10th and has a decent chance of doing that as he starts fifth.
Final qualifying head to heads, 2024 season
Qualifying is done for the season, so here is how each driver stacks up against their team-mate. Some good records in there. Piastri certainly needs to improve his one-lap pace. He has not been that far behind Norris but should be beating him more often. Somehow, I do not think Sergio Perez will get that luxury.
Qualifying times
- Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1min 22.595secs
- Oscar Piastri (Aus) McLaren 1:22.804
- Carlos Sainz Jr. (Spa) Ferrari 1:22.824
- Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Haas F1 1:22.886
- Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:22.945
- Pierre Gasly (Fra) Alpine 1:22.984
- George Russell (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:23.132
- Fernando Alonso (Spa) Aston Martin 1:23.196
- Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Kick Sauber 1:23.204
- Sergio Perez (Mex) Red Bull 1:23.264
- Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) RB 1:23.419
- Liam Lawson (Nzl) RB 1:23.472
- Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin 1:23.784
- Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:23.833
- Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 1:23.877
- Alexander Albon (Tha) Williams 1:23.821
- Guanyu Zhou (Chn) Kick Sauber 1:23.880
- Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:23.887
- Franco Colapinto (Arg) Williams 1:23.912
- Jack Doohan (Aus) Alpine 1:24.105
Good afternoon F1 fans
Welcome to our live coverage for the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the final race of the current season. It has been quite a season, has it not? In the end Max Verstappen emerged victorious after building a significant advantage with seven wins in the first 10 races, but since then the spoils have been shared fairly evenly around, with the season becoming unpredictable, close, regularly exciting and occasionally controversial.
Since Verstappen won the Spanish Grand Prix in June we have had seven winners from four different teams. Not one of them has won more than two races in that period, though, a quite remarkable run. What is left to play for today? Well, a race victory of course but also the constructors’ championship. McLaren are aiming to win their first team title since 1998 (they scored the most points in 2007 but were disqualified from the championship).
They have gone a long way to securing that with a front-row lockout yesterday, Lando Norris taking his eighth pole position of the season. They lead Ferrari by 21 points heading into this round so it was already a tough ask. Things became even tougher when Charles Leclerc was given a 10-place grid penalty and worse still when he went out in Q2. He will start at the very back.
Of course, if the two McLarens come together then Ferrari might have half a chance. But outside of that or something very strange happening, this is McLaren’s to lose. It would cap off a remarkable turnaround from the doldrums of the Honda years when the team finished 9th twice in three years, as recently as 2017. Ferrari never reached those depths but Frederic Vasseur and his men and women should be commended for a strong season. They will certainly go into 2025 as contenders in both championships.
One man that should please is Lewis Hamilton, whose success-littered Mercedes career – six titles and 84 race wins – comes to an end today. It does not look like being a fine and fitting ending, with the Briton starting well down the grid after being eliminated in Q1. He heads to Ferrari next season and has turned up in an outfit which certainly looks like a nod to that.
Anyway, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix begins at 1pm GMT and we will be here for all of the build-up, live updates and reaction from it.