Lewis Hamilton shows class is permanent with charge up grid in final Mercedes race – but Lando Norris has last laugh

LANDO NORRIS brought home McLaren’s first constructors’ title since 1998 by the skin of their teeth.

All hopes were pinned on the British 24-year-old’s shoulders at the Abu Dhabi GP after his team-mate Oscar Piastri, who started second on the grid, suffered a disastrous crash with Max Verstappen. 

Reuters

Lando Norris won the Abu Dhabi GP to clinch the constructors championship for McLaren[/caption]

The crash at the very start of the race left the Aussie falling into last place before he was then later slapped with a ten-place grid penalty for a collision with Franco Colapinto. 

To make matters worse, the Ferrari cars were fierce throughout, with Charles Leclerc producing the drive of his life to sit in third for the majority of the race after starting in 19th due to a ten-place grid penalty. 

Meanwhile his team-mate Carlos Sainz snapped at Norris’ heels and McLaren’s constructors’ hopes from second-place. 

Norris, who missed out on this season’s driver’s title to Max Verstappen, roared after the race: “Woohoo! Well done everyone, so proud of you all. Next year is going to be my year too.”

Meanwhile in his final Mercedes race, Lewis Hamilton soared into fourth from 16th on the grid with a last-lap pass on team-mate George Russell.

Hamilton had endured a horror show in qualifying in his last race weekend with the Silver Arrows.

But he was given the freedom of the home straight to do some donuts to mark his farewell after six championship titles with the British team.

The constructor’s title is a huge feat for McLaren after the revival sparked by the upgrades they brought to the Miami Grand Prix a full 17 races ago in May, which coincided with Norris bringing the fight to Verstappen for the driver’s title.

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They have overcome a 115-point deficit at that stage of the season to take the lead from Red Bull.

It was David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen that gave McLaren its last constructors’ title 24 years ago in 1998, its eighth title.

The race was crazy from the start as Verstappen and Piastri collided, Yuki Tsunoda stalled and there was a spin from Sergio Perez. 

Norris got away well but Verstappen touched Piastri on the inside and they both spun at the first corner. 

Seething Piastri dropped into last place and hit out at the four-time world champ, saying on his team radio: “Yep, move of a world champion.”

There was no stopping Leclerc who gained 11 places for Ferrari, soaring into eighth while Lewis Hamilton was in 12th from 16th.

Perez had been tagged by Valtteri Bottas before his spin and came to a halt in the final sector of the second lap leaving him out of the race and prompting a Virtual Safety Car. 

Verstappen was then delivered the news that he had been slapped with a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision with Piastri on the first lap.

Bottas also suffered the same fate for hitting Sergio Perez.

Piastri pitted by lap five and thankfully for McLaren did not need a new front wing but only a new set of tyres. 

He came out 25 seconds behind 17th-placed Jack Doohan, but things went from bad to worse when he was hit with a 10-second time penalty of his own for an earlier collision with Colapinto. 

Suddenly the pressure was cranked up on Norris, with it a long way back for Piastri to get back into the points. 

It didn’t help that Monaco-born Leclerc was relentless, flying into fourth as a Ferrari red sunset stained the sky.

Verstappen pitted and served his penalty on lap 31 and aimed a dig at the stewards, saying: “Could we ask for 20-seconds? Stupid idiots.” 

For nearly half of the race the Ferraris had Norris in their sights as they circled like sharks around in the track in second and third. 

Norris bravely held off and crossed the line as fireworks filled the sky as McLaren beat Ferrari by 14 points.