Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2024 - Race Schedule and Countdown

Lando Norris delivered a flawless championship-winning performance at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix season finale, dominating from pole position to secure McLaren's first Constructors' Championship in 26 years and ending one of the longest title droughts in Formula 1 history. The British driver controlled the 58-lap race from start to finish under the Yas Marina floodlights, crossing the line ahead of Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc to seal McLaren's ninth constructors' title - their first since Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard led the team to glory in 1998. The emotional triumph marked the culmination of McLaren's remarkable resurgence from the depths of their 2015-2017 Honda-powered disaster years to the summit of Formula 1, with the Woking-based team finishing on 666 points, 14 ahead of Ferrari's 652 in one of the closest constructors' battles in recent memory.

The race began with immediate drama at Turn 1 when Max Verstappen made an overly ambitious dive down the inside of teammate Oscar Piastri, spinning the Australian around and dropping him to the back of the field - a moment that briefly threatened McLaren's championship dreams. Despite this early setback, Norris maintained ice-cool composure at the front, executing his race strategy to perfection and managing his pace expertly while keeping Sainz's chasing Ferrari at a safe five-second gap throughout the afternoon. Starting from pole position with a lap of 1:22.595, Norris never put a wheel wrong, demonstrating the maturity and consistency that had defined McLaren's championship campaign. Behind the leaders, Leclerc drove a strong race to third place for Ferrari, but the Scuderia's late-season resurgence that had brought them to within 21 points heading into the finale ultimately fell short. The race marked Sainz's emotional final podium finish for Ferrari before his 2025 move to Williams, ending his four-year tenure with the team on a bittersweet high note.

Piastri, showing remarkable character and racecraft, carved through the field from his first-lap spin to salvage 10th place despite receiving a 10-second time penalty for a collision with Franco Colapinto's Williams - crucial points that helped seal the constructors' title. George Russell finished fourth for Mercedes, with Pierre Gasly claiming fifth for Alpine in their impressive late-season revival. Kevin Magnussen set the fastest lap for Haas. Verstappen's fourth-place championship title was already secured, ending Norris's late-season challenge, but the Dutchman's first-lap error with Piastri provided the drama as McLaren sweated out the final laps. When the checkered flag fell, McLaren erupted in jubilation - from team principal Andrea Stella to the mechanics in the garage, the tears flowed as 26 years of waiting finally ended. The championship represented complete vindication for McLaren's patient rebuild under Stella's leadership, the fruits of their Mercedes power unit partnership, and proof that strategic investment and development could topple Red Bull's seemingly unbeatable machinery. The 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix will forever be remembered as the race that ended McLaren's quarter-century championship drought and confirmed the end of Red Bull's era of total dominance, ushering in a new era of multi-team competition at the pinnacle of motorsport.