RACE REPORT | F1 Abu Dhabi 2024

Lando Norris secured victory at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, giving McLaren its first Constructors' title since 1988.

Starting grid

The starting grid for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix changed after several penalties but Lando Norris’ and Oscar Piastri’s front row was left untouched.

Carlos Sainz, who qualified in third, wasn't affected as well. However, his Ferrari teammate, Charles Leclerc, dropped from 14th to 20th place after a 10-place grid penalty for changing his battery. Leclerc had his lap time deleted in Q2 for going off track, which put him in 14th, but with the penalty, he started from 19th place after other FIA reshuffles.

Williams drivers Alex Albon and Franco Colapinto each received a five-place grid penalty for changing their gearboxes. They started in 18th and 20th place.

Nico Hulkenberg, who qualified in fourth, was dropped to seventh after a stewards' investigation. This promoted Max Verstappen, Pierre Gasly, and George Russell one place up the grid.

In his 246th and final race for Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton started in 16th place after being knocked out in Q1.

Race

Max Verstappen, starting fourth, attempted to move forward right after the start but made contact with Oscar Piastri, who started third, resulting in both drivers spinning off the track. As a consequence, Verstappen dropped out of the top ten, while Piastri ended up all the way at the back of the field.

Charles Leclerc, on the other hand, had a brilliant start, climbing from P19 to P12 straight ahead, similarly, as his good friend Pierre Gasly, who found himself in third place. 

More drama came at the back, where Sergio Perez spun due to a contact with Valtteri Bottas and after retiring in Qatar, the Mexican had to do the same in Abu Dhabi, potentially in his last race with Red Bull. After the incident a virtual safety car was deployed for a little bit.

Meanwhile, replays showed that Franco Colapinto was hit from the back by Oscar Piastri, who later on received a 10-second time penalty for the incident, similarly as Verstappen for the one with him on lap 1 and Bottas for hitting Perez. Due to the incident, Colapinto was forced to retire in his, for now, last race in F1.

Gasly was defending for his life and third place against George Russell, who was doing everything possible but couldn’t get past the Frenchman. However, a few moments after Gasly made it easier for him as he opted to pit, to cover an undercut from Haas, which Alpine needed to beat in order to secure sixth in the Constructors’ Championship.

At that point, Leclerc had already moved to the top five, while Lewis Hamilton to the top ten, after starting 16th but was complaining that he has “no pace”. 

Alex Albon and Zhou Guanyu were being investigated for a false start. In the end only Zhou was penalised with a five second time penalty.

On lap 21, Leclerc pitted for hard tyres and rejoined behind Gasly in eighth place, his teammate Carlos Sainz then made his stop a lap after, rejoining in second behind leader Lando Norris.

Liam Lawson, who reportedly should become Verstappen’s teammate next year, also made his pit stop a few moments after, however the wheels weren’t put properly on his RB and he had to come to come again to get the issue shorter out.

In what might’ve been their final F1 races, Valtteri Bottas and Kevin Magnussen were involved in a collision on lap 31. Bottas locked up his tyres into the harpin and hit Magnussen, causing both cars to spin. While the Fin managed to return to the pits, he was forced to retire from the race.

As there was no Safety Car in sight, McLaren then made a bold decision to have Piastri serve his penalty, and Mercedes finally called Lewis Hamilton into the pits for a pit stop.

With 20 laps remaining, Lando Norris led Carlos Sainz by 2.6 seconds, with Charles Leclerc in third. George Russell, Pierre Gasly, Nico Hulkenberg, Hamilton, and Fernando Alonso followed behind in the points positions. Max Verstappen and Alex Albon were also running inside the points, with McLaren holding a 13-point advantage in the Constructors' Championship, still with Norris in control.

Hamilton, receiving the 'Hammer Time' message, quickly overtook Hulkenberg for sixth. He then set his sights on Gasly, passing him easily and closing the gap to Russell. With 15 laps to go, the seven-time world champion was 14 seconds behind Russell.

At the front, Norris continued to manage his lead, steadily increasing the gap over Sainz, who was struggling after running over some debris. As the race entered the final lap, Norris had an eight-second lead and was on course to secure McLaren’s first Constructors’ Championship since 1998.

Norris took the chequered flag for his fourth win of the season, while Sainz finished second and Leclerc third.

Hamilton made a late move to pass Russell and finished fourth, with Verstappen sixth. Gasly, Hulkenberg, Alonso, and Piastri completed the top ten, with Piastri earning a single point.

Jack Doohan, making his Alpine debut, finished 15th as he prepares for his first full F1 season in 2025. 

Additionally, there was late drama for Liam Lawson, whose car began smoking and broke down on the final lap, ending his race 1 lap early.

2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix results: