McLaren Clinch Constructors' Title as Lando Norris Wins 2024 Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix

Lando Norris earned his fourth win of the 2024 Formula One season in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and secured the constructors' title for McLaren in the process.

With Max Verstappen already crowned the champion for a fourth straight year, the head-to-head battle between McLaren and Ferrari provided the biggest subplot at Yas Marina Circuit. Twenty-one points separated the teams going into the race.

Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc both getting onto the podium wasn't enough for Ferrari to close the gap.

Norris, who started from the pole, had a straightforward Sunday to cap off his best-ever F1 campaign. He maintained an early lead on Sainz and the gap only grew as the race unfolded. Nearly six seconds separated them at the end.

The drama was reserved for the rest of the field.

On the opening lap, Verstappen and Oscar Piastri made contact, with Piastri spinning out off the track.

After reviewing the sequence, race stewards assessed a 10-second penalty to Verstappen for initiating the contact.

Red Bull's day quickly got worse when Sergio Pérez came together with Valtteri Bottas on the second lap and sustained enough damage to his car that he couldn't continue. Thus that's how Pérez's run with Red Bull is reportedly drawing to a close.

Piastri subsequently found himself on the wrong side of a stewards' ruling for an incident on the first lap that didn't involve Verstappen. The McLaren star rear-ended Franco Colapinto, which resulted in a DNF for the Argentine driver.

Piastri received his own 10-second penalty, which sent him tumbling down the leaderboard as his team tried to keep Ferrari at bay. Fortunately, Norris' efforts meant that didn't matter.

Sunday saw a legendary era conclude with Lewis Hamilton leaving Mercedes for Ferrari in 2025. There was no storybook ending, though the seven-time champion made the most of the tough hand he got dealt.

Hamilton knew his hopes of a podium finish were effectively gone after a disappointing qualifying run. He would've started in 18th were it not for penalties to Colapinto and Leclerc.

A fourth-place showing wasn't too bad all things considered, but the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix summed up what has been a frustrating last few years for Hamilton with Mercedes.

Maybe the 39-year-old becomes a viable championship threat again with Ferrari.

The Australian Grand Prix will kick off Formula One's 2025 season on March 16, with all roads leading back to Yas Marina Circuit next December.

While Verstappen will undoubtedly enter as the favorite, he could have some serious challengers in Norris and Hamilton.