Lando Norris confirmed the dominance of McLaren at the weekend and won the GP de Abu Dabi this Sunday. Behind him, they ended Carlos Sainz e Charles Leclercyes Ferrari. With this, McLaren won the title of World Constructorswith 666 points, against 652 for the Italian team. The cash prize for qualifying is important to reinforce the teams’ budget for the following season.
Norris’ teammate at McLaren, Oscar Piastri started in second place, but got tangled up with Max Verstappen at the start and finished in 10th place. The four-time champion, who before the race in the United Arab Emirates had stated that he was “looking forward to taking a vacation”, finished in 6th place.
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McLaren monopolized the front row in 2 of the 3 free practice sessions and in the qualifying session to form the grid. With the victory, Norris secured second place in the Drivers’ World Championship, with 374 points, against 356 for Leclerc.
At the start, Norris maintained first place. Piastri and Verstappen, who started in fourth position, fought for braking in the first corner and ended up touching. While the McLaren driver was thrown off the circuit, Verstappen spun on the track and fell to 11th place. Piastri came in last place.
Piastri and Verstappen were each punished with 10 seconds. Still in the first round, Valtteri Bottas also touched on Sergio Perez and was punished with the same 10 seconds. Perez abandoned the race.
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On the fifth lap, Piastri decided to go to the pits to change tires, from medium to hard, to try a new strategy. At the front, Norris maintained the lead, followed by Carlos Sainz e Pierre Gaslythat Alpine.
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In the 20th of 58 laps, Norris had more than four seconds ahead of Sainz. Leclerc already appeared behind George Russellin fourth position, after starting 19th and penultimate. Verstappen was fifth, and Piastri was in 13th place. Leclerc pitted on the next lap and returned in eighth place. Sainz changed tires on the 26th lap, and Norris and Russell on the next lap.
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Piastri made another stop on the 33rd lap and, like Verstappen, served his punishment. The McLaren driver returned in 15th place. In his last race for Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton was the last to change tires on the 35th lap, when he was in third position.
After all drivers had made at least one pit stop, Norris was the leader with around 3 seconds ahead of Sainz. In a great recovery race, Leclerc was 20 seconds behind his Ferrari teammate, in third place.
Norris gradually increased his advantage over the Ferrari drivers until completing 58 laps on the track. Yas Marina under the banner of the Italian tennis player Jannik Sinnerleader of the world ranking.
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Check out the results of the Abu Dhabi GP:
1.º – Lando Norris (ING/McLaren),
2nd – Carlos Sainz (ESP/Ferrari), + 5s832
3.º – Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari), + 31s928
4.º – Lewis Hamilton (ING/Mercedes), + 36s483
5.º – George Russell (ING/Mercedes), + 37s538
6.º – Max Verstappen (HOL/Red Bull), + 49s847
7. – Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine), + 72s560
8th – Nico Hulkenberg (ALE/Haas), + 75s554
9.º – Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin), + 82s373
10th – Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren), +83s821
11th – Alexander Albon (TAI/Williams), one lap away
12th – Yuki Tsunoda (JAP/RB), one lap behind
13th – Ghuanyu Zhou (CHN/Kick Sauber), one lap behind
14th – Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin), one lap behind
15th – Jack Doohan (AUS/Alpine), one lap away
16th – Kevin Magnussen (DIN/Haas), one lap behind
Did not complete the test: Sérgio Perez (MEX/Red Bull), Franco Colapinto (ARG/Williams), Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Kick Sauber) and Liam Lawson (NEO/RB)
