After Oscar Piastri was taken out of the running for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix very early on, a lot of pressure shifted to Lando Norris’ shoulders.
All of McLaren’s hopes effectively completely rested on his shoulders now, and any big mistakes would effectively render their season over.
Qualifying in Abu Dhabi was a tale of McLaren domination, but sadly Max Verstappen had other ideas when presented with the prospect of a nice, easy Sunday drive.
His turn-one lunge and miscalculation sent him spinning to the back with a 10-second penalty, while Oscar Piastri was left to recover from facing the wrong way.
Andrea Stella calls McLaren’s Abu Dhabi pit stop ‘most important of the season’
With Carlos Sainz hot on Lando Norris’ heels for the rest of the race, any mechanical blunder or unforced error would see them effectively wave goodbye to the title.
Ferrari’s hard-charging Charles Leclerc had carved his way through the field too and was in contention for a podium at the front, albeit 20 seconds behind.
When the time came for a pit stop, Sainz had seized the initiative by coming in one lap earlier – trying to work a strong undercut to eat into a near five-second lead.
READ MORE: McLaren boss Andrea Stella admits there’s one thing he can’t trust about Red Bull and Max Verstappen
He did manage to slice the advantage by three seconds, but as Andrea Stella told F1 Nation, the team managed to nail Norris’ two-second pit stop and it was one of the biggest stops of the season.
“I just want to make one example. The most important pit stop of the season – it was one of our three fastest or something.
“I think this summarises the maturity, the quality of the team. At the same time, it summarises how tense this season was going to the last pit stop.”
Who heads into the F1 2025 season as the favourite?
In ending a 16-year championship drought and finishing the year on a high, their Abu Dhabi Grand Prix victory proved why they are the ones to beat in 2025.
Both Red Bull and Mercedes were a clear step behind them all weekend, and have a lot of hard work ahead of them during the winter to make sure they can compete for victories next year.
Lewis Hamilton delivered a vintage display on Sunday, and he will join Ferrari and will need time to adjust to the surroundings alongside teammate Leclerc.
READ MORE: What Charles Leclerc did at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that proves Ferrari can rely on him ‘for a long time’
While they are the pick for the biggest challengers, it could take time for that operation to mould together and get comfortable.
For the first time in 26 years though, McLaren are going to be the hunted within F1, and that’s an unfamiliar and sometimes tricky position to be in – so they’re going to have to keep on the ball.
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