McLaren finally managed to end a 16-year championship drought with a calm and measured performance at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
It would have been easy to panic after Max Verstappen swiped into the side of Oscar Piastri – making them vulnerable to Ferrari with no rear-gunner.
But Lando Norris didn’t crack under pressure and delivered a seamless performance ahead of a hard-charging Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.
Most impressive, may have been the McLaren’s ability to produce a two-second pit stop under extreme circumstances – getting Norris back out ahead of Sainz with a one-second midway through the race.
McLaren adds special championship-winning light feature to garage in Abu Dhabi
The last time McLaren won a constructors’ title, they took the reigns over from Williams – who haven’t managed to claim back that crown since.
In fact, the Grove-based outfit started 2023 faster than their Papaya rivals, but such has been their rate of development, that they are now the fastest team on the grid.
Williams meanwhile, had the ninth-fastest car – as their standing in the championship reflects, and are a long way from reaching the heights that the team from Woking has.
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It was a real team effort from McLaren, from those in the garage to the strategists, to the drivers on track – they worked incredibly hard to chase down and overtake both Red Bull and Ferrari.
Now they get to celebrate that accomplishment in style, with a new light memorial, dedicated to their victory at the back of the garage in Abu Dhabi.
Why McLaren are the team to beat in 2025
Not only are McLaren ending the year with a race victory, championship win and the fastest car, but they have the most continuity of all the top teams heading into 2025.
Mercedes and Ferrari are changing their driver line-ups, while Red Bull are likely to let go of Sergio Perez and initiate a change there too.
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By keeping things stable, their level of familiarity will be strong and they should be able to pick up where they left off.
There’s a change to the opening round of the season too, with Formula 1 reverting back to the Australian Grand Prix as the first race of the year for the first time since 2019.
McLaren should be strong there next year, with the track’s high-speed demands suiting the philosophy of their car and the driving style of Piastri and Norris.
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