Lando Norris coolly claimed victory in a tense, emotional and incident-filled Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday to deliver McLaren’s first constructors’ championship in 26 years as Lewis Hamilton finished a remarkable fourth in his final race for Mercedes. The 25-year-old Norris came home 5.832 seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz and his team-mate Charles Leclerc to end Ferrari’s title challenge on a night of accidents, penalties and tantrums under the floodlights at the Yas Marina Circuit. “Papaya on top!” said Norris on his slowdown lap after the season-closing race.

“Congrats to everyone. Incredible. So proud of you all. You all deserve this. It’s been a special one. Next year is going to be my year too.”

McLaren had not won the teams’ title since 1998, the year before Norris was born, and started the day with a lead of 21 points and a front row lockout, but saw Oscar Piastri sent spinning in a clash with newly-crowned four-time champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull at the first corner.

This encouraged Ferrari, with Leclerc starting 19th on the grid, and they mounted a defiant if vain bid for glory, finishing second and third ahead of Hamilton, who passed team-mate George Russell on the final lap.

Russell came home fifth ahead of Verstappen, who was one of several drivers to be handed a 10 second penalty for his crash into Piastri, and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly with Nico Hulkenberg taking eighth for Haas.

Fernando Alonso was ninth for Aston Martin and Piastri, after a battling drive, 10th in the second McLaren.

‘Stupid idiots’

In hot, dry and clear conditions, Norris made a clean start from his eighth pole of the year to lead into Turn One where Verstappen attacked Piastri on the inside and made contact with his car to send both spinning.

Piastri waited to rejoin in 20th and last, but Verstappen squeezed back into 11th as team-mate Sergio Perez’s miserable season concluded with a spin out at Turn Six after contact with Valtteri Bottas’s Sauber.

Leclerc, with a scintillating surge on the opening lap, rose from 19th to eight.

Verstappen was given a 10-second penalty for his ‘dive bomb’ move on Piastri, who reported “yep, move of a world champion there” on McLaren team radio.

After a brief Safety Car intervention, Piastri hit the rear of Franco Colapinto’s Williams, forcing the Argentine to pit with a puncture. Piastri also pitted for fresh hards before being given a 10-second penalty, as was Bottas for his part in ending Perez’s race.

At the front, Norris led Sainz by 2.7 seconds ahead of Gasly and Russell as Leclerc climbed to sixth by lap 10 when Hamilton, having started 16th as the only man on hards, was up to 12th. For Norris, knowing a win was essential for McLaren, the pressure was on.

Haas began the pit stops on lap 12 with others following to lift Hamilton to fifth on lap 21.

Sainz pitted from second in 2.2 seconds after 26 laps, gifting Norris a lead of 26.2 before he pitted, ahead of Russell, and rejoined with a one second advantage on the Spaniard. Verstappen, yet to stop, was third before pitting, taking his penalty and emerging 11th.

“Could we ask for 20 seconds?” asked Verstappen with sarcastic venom. “Stupid idiots.”

Bottas and Magnussen, a duo in their likely final F1 races, then collided on lap 31.

“Isn’t that just great?” said the Dane. He pitted and rejoined on softs while the Finn retired.

‘Lewis, it’s hammer time’

On lap 34, Hamilton, dreaming of a podium, finally pitted from third for his mediums, taking seventh ahead of Alonso and Verstappen, a trio of 13 title wins. Norris led Sainz by 3.2 seconds with Leclerc third.

With 20 laps to go, Hamilton’s race engineer Peter ‘Bono’ Bonnington, for the final time, told his driver “Lewis, it’s hammer time”. Hamilton asked for the gap time and was told 14 seconds. “You can do it,” chimed in his team chief Wolff before he took Gasly for fifth.

At the front, Norris was the embodiment of cool, 5.9 clear of Sainz and managing his race with detached precision despite struggling in ‘dirty air’ as he lapped most of the field, including Piastri in the final laps, when Hamilton closed within a second of Russell before snatching fourth.

Formula One drivers on Thursday blasted the “tone and language” used by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem amid a row over swearing at press conferences. In an open letter, the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) also demanded that competitors be treated like adults. Several drivers, including three-time world champion Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Monaco’s Charles Leclerc, were recently sanctioned by the FIA for swearing at a press conference. 

And Ben Sulayem has spoken out in favour of measures to ensure drivers no longer use foul language. 

On Thursday, the GPDA hit back with a letter posted on social media regarding ‘Driver Misconduct’.

“There is a difference between swearing intended to insult others and more casual swearing, such as you might use to describe bad weather, or indeed an inanimate object such as an F1 car, or a driving situation,” the letter read.

“We urge the FIA president to consider his own tone and language when talking to our member drivers, or indeed about them, whether in a public forum or otherwise.

“Further, our members are adults. They do not need to be given instructions via the media, about matters as trivial as the wearing of jewellery or underpants.”

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has clashed with FIA bosses for wearing jewellery at races, with the governing body also reminding drivers of the need to wear flame-resistant underwear. 

The GPDA also stressed its opposition to financial sanctions against drivers and called on Ben Sulayem to clarify how they are imposed and how their proceeds are used.

Relations between Ben Sulayem, team bosses and drivers have deteriorated in recent months. 

The FIA president was accused at the start of the year of trying to derail the 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix and influence the results of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix the same year. 

In both cases, the Emirati was cleared by the FIA Ethics Committee.

George Russell claimed a dramatic victory for Mercedes on Sunday after a sensational late collision between series leader Max Verstappen of Red Bull and his nearest rival Lando Norris of McLaren in the closing laps of an action-packed Austrian Grand Prix. It was the British driver’s second career victory, endorsing the improved form of the Mercedes team in recent races, as he made the most of Verstappen’s impulsive and aggressive move against Norris, to finish 1.9 seconds clear of Oscar Piastri in the second McLaren.  “Incredible!” said Russell, who had registered Mercedes’ last win in Brazil in 2022. “I think it was a tough fight out there at the beginning of the race just to hold on to that third place and I saw on the TV that Max and Lando were getting pretty close — and I knew Lando would want to try to get that race win. 

“The team has done an amazing job to put us in this fight and you’ve got to be there in the end to pick up the pieces.”

Carlos Sainz finished third for Ferrari ahead of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in the second Mercedes and Verstappen, who was fifth, despite collecting a 10-second penalty for causing the crash with Norris, who was forced to retire his damaged car. 

On a hot day in the Styrian Alps, with air temperatures touching 29 degrees and the track at 49, Verstappen made his now customary flawless start from pole. 

Russell also made a good start from third and fought Norris for second on the opening lap.

Verstappen pitted on lap 23, followed by Norris and the rest, passing the race lead to Piastri until he pitted on lap 25. Piastri rejoined sixth and order was restored with everyone on hards, except Russell who took a second set of mediums.

“He launched straight into me – I couldn’t turn right into the box,” said Norris, complaining about Verstappen’s alleged unsafe release by Red Bull.

“Yeah, we’re on it,” came the reply. 

By lap 41 Verstappen was grumbling about his tyres.

“I don’t know what’s happening,” said the champion who had only a fresh set of hards or used mediums left to run.

– 10 second penalty –

By lap 44, Verstappen’s lead was down to 6.4 seconds before Russell, also struggling, pitted for fresh hards, re-joining sixth. He swiftly set a fastest lap and passed Sainz for fifth behind Hamilton, who was behind the two McLarens. 

With the leaders extending their stints to make a two-stop strategy work, back-markers like Leclerc in 12th on three stops were faster on track, but stuck behind Verstappen until he pitted again with Norris on lap 51. 

The Dutchman suffered a slow stop due to a ‘sticky’ left rear and Norris on fresh mediums was only 2.2 behind as they rejoined in P1 and P2. Verstappen was on used mediums, delivering the prospect of a thrilling duel to the flag. 

Norris was three-tenths adrift before passing him on lap 59, but ran wide and off-track. He gave the position back and received a warning for exceeding track limits before attacking again only for Verstappen to run wide and rejoin.

The battling pair eventually collided on lap 63 at Turn Three where Verstappen moved across to hit Norris’s car and both suffered punctures, gifting the lead to Russell as they limped back to the pits.

Verstappen’s front left was damaged and Norris’s right rear, with sufficient damage for the McLaren to retire as Verstappen rejoined in fifth, only to receive a 10-second penalty for causing the crash which led to a brief Virtual Safety Car.

Nico Hulkenberg came home sixth for Haas ahead of Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull, Kevin Magnussen in the second Haas, Daniel Ricciardo of RB and Pierre Gasly of Alpine. 

Leclerc finished 11th in the second Ferrari after a race of four pit-stops following a first lap incident.