McLaren won the Formula 1 constructors’ championship on Sunday for the first time in more than a quarter century, securing it in the final race of the season by keeping chief rival Ferrari at bay.
It won with a decisive lights-to-flag victory by Lando Norris in Abu Dhabi, landing the storied British team its first championship since 1998, when former McLaren driver Mika Häkkinen won one of his two driver’s championships.
“Congrats, everyone! Incredible. Well done, everyone. So proud of you all. You all deserve this,” Norris said via team radio after taking the checkered flag. “Next year’s going to be my year, too.”
It was also a triumphant moment for Zak Brown, the jovial and media-friendly American CEO of McLaren, who took the job in 2018 and oversaw McLaren’s rise from a struggling midfield team. The constructors’ trophy carries more than just bragging rights — it comes with large sums of coveted prize money, too.
“What an awesome team effort,” Brown said on the Sky Sports and ESPN broadcast. “Amazing! That was stressful.”
Norris quipped in the postrace interview: “Me and Zak are going to get absolutely hammered tonight.”
Ferrari finished second and third in the race with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, respectively, but the double podium wasn’t enough. Heading into the season finale, Ferrari's two drivers needed to outscore McLaren’s two drivers by at least 21 points. The Italian team hasn’t won a championship since 2008.
The end of the 2024 season also marks a changing-of-the-guard moment for F1, with a slew of younger drivers rising and some older drivers stepping aside.
McLaren’s comfortable 1-2 start on the grid Sunday immediately descended into chaos after its other driver, Oscar Piastri, spun around in the first corner after tangling with Max Verstappen — a crash that earned the Red Bull driver a 10-second penalty.
Meanwhile, Sainz tucked into second place early on behind Norris and finished there. Leclerc, who started in 19th place after taking a grid penalty for exceeding his allotment of power unit components, charged all the way up to sixth place in just the first 10 laps.
But Norris controlled the race at the front and opened up a gap that nobody could challenge, one that proved crucial for his team.
Piastri finished 10th after getting a 10-second penalty of his own for running into the back of Williams driver Franco Colapinto.
Red Bull dominance ended this year
Red Bull finished in third place overall after dominating the last two seasons, with McLaren and Ferrari — and occasionally Mercedes — improving their cars and gaining ground, delivering thrilling and unpredictable battles for fans who want close competition.
Verstappen still won the driver’s championship — his fourth in a row — enabled by a strong showing in the early part of the season before his struggles began. After winning seven out of the first 10 races, Verstappen won just two out of the last 14. He clinched it in Las Vegas last month, becoming just the sixth driver in F1 history to win four or more championships. Norris finished second in the standings after a breakthrough season.
The season marked a fresh challenge to Red Bull after two seasons where it was untouchable, including a 2023 season where it won a staggering 21 out of 22 races.
But by the end of the 2024 season, it wasn’t even a contender for the constructors’ trophy, with Red Bull second driver Sergio Perez having a miserable season. He finished a distant eighth in the driver’s standings, marking his first winless season during his fourth year with the team. Perez couldn’t muster a single top-five finish in the last 18 races. Perez retired from the Abu Dhabi race after a collision on the first lap, which was deemed not to be his fault.
Perez’s future racing with Red Bull is deeply uncertain, even though he is contracted with the team for next year.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton finished fourth in his last race for Mercedes, ending the most successful driver-team partnership in F1 history. Hamilton will join Ferrari early next year, replacing Sainz, who is joining Williams.
“Thank you for all the courage, the determination and the passion,” Hamilton told his team over the radio. “What started out as a leap of faith turned into a journey into the history books.”
Jack Doohan finished 15th in his first race for Alpine in Abu Dhabi as he replaces the Haas-bound Esteban Ocon full time next season.
The 18-year-old Formula 2 driver Kimi Antonelli will replace Hamilton at Mercedes, racing alongside George Russell.
Formula 2 driver Oliver Bearman is joining Haas. And Gabriel Bortoleto, who won the Formula 2 championship in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, is slated to drive for Kick Sauber next season.
