Abu Dhabi GP: Verstappen won, but it was not enough for him to surpass champion Norris; Colapinto finished 20th

In a final without the drama that many expected, Lando Norris secured his first Formula 1 drivers' title and put the finishing touch on a historic season for McLaren. In Yas Marina, where strategy outweighed spectacle, the Briton accomplished the goal: finishing where he needed to in order to be crowned champion, even with Max Verstappen taking the race victory.

The Dutchman, four-time world champion, did what was required from pole and maintained the lead from the start. But McLaren's key was behind: Oscar Piastri moved ahead of Norris and became the perfect pawn to wear down Verstappen, with hard tires against the medium tires of the other two championship contenders.

Norris, calm, held onto a third place that was never truly at risk. Charles Leclerc threatened an attack when he entered the DRS zone, although it was only a mirage, since every time the Ferrari closed in, the McLaren accelerated and pulled away with authority.

The early pit stop to fit hard tires was the only moment of tension for Norris, who ended up behind Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda. The sense that the Red Bull-linked cars would try to help Verstappen quickly faded. Lawson offered no resistance and Tsunoda barely tried to slow him down, unsuccessfully.

Although Verstappen closed the season with the highest number of victories (eight in total), Red Bull's lack of reliability in the opening races ultimately doomed his title defense. McLaren did not need heroic maneuvers; they simply executed better. The outgoing champion was once again alone against the world.

In the rest of the field, Leclerc was the best Ferrari with a fourth place, while Lewis Hamilton once again fought back in a season to forget and finished eighth, the worst year of his career. George Russell could not recover from a poor start and was fifth, followed by Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon.

With this title, Lando Norris was crowned champion for the first time in his career and became the 35th driver to achieve it. In addition, he delivered a world title to McLaren after 17 years (the last had been in 2008 with Hamilton). Meanwhile, the British team is now just two world championships behind Ferrari in the overall standings (13 to 15, respectively).

Colapinto and a complicated end of the year

Parallel to the celebrations for Norris and McLaren, Franco Colapinto ended the year with Alpine in 20th place, just behind his teammate Pierre Gasly, mainly affected by the poor performance of his car. Although he reached 15th place, he quickly dropped to the bottom of the standings after his pit stops. Unfortunately, the native of Pilar finished without points this season.

Drivers' and Constructors' Standings after Abu Dhabi

Drivers:

1. Lando Norris (McLaren) [CHAMPION] - 423 points
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - 421 points
3. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 410 points
4. George Russell (Mercedes) - 319 points
5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 242 points
6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - 156 points
7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) - 150 points
8. Alex Albon (Williams) - 73 points
9. Carlos Sainz (Williams) - 64 points
10. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) - 56 points
11. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) - 51 points
12. Nico Hulkenberg (Kick Sauber) - 49 points
13. Oliver Bearman (Haas) - 42 points
14. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) - 38 points
15. Esteban Ocon (Haas) - 38 points
16. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) - 34 points
17. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) - 33 points
18. PIERRE GASLY (Alpine) - 22 points
19. Gabriel Bortoleto (Kick Sauber) - 19 points
20. FRANCO COLAPINTO (Alpine) - 0 points
21. JACK DOOHAN (Alpine) - 0 points

Constructors:

1. McLaren (CHAMPION) - 833 points
2. Mercedes AMG F1 - 469 points
3. Red Bull - 451 points
4. Ferrari - 398 points
5. Williams - 137 points
6. Racing Bulls - 92 points
7. Aston Martin - 90 points
8. Haas F1 Team - 80 points
9. Kick Sauber - 68 points
10. ALPINE F1 TEAM - 22 points