Following a thrilling Qatar Grand Prix, the teams headed to Abu Dhabi for the season finale: the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The day after the Qatar Grand Prix, some disappointing news hit the paddock; Alpine announced junior driver Jack Doohan would replace Esteban Ocon for the final race of the season. Ocon has been with the team since 2020 and won the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2021. It was a disappointing end to his Alpine career after he failed to finish in his final race with the team.
When the teams finally arrived in Abu Dhabi, with yet another new face this season, the nerves were high for what was a championship-deciding weekend. There is no better place to have such a momentous race, as the Yas Marina Circuit provides a perfect combination of speed and precision. This circuit has been the location of the season finale for 10 straight seasons and is home to some of the most memorable moments in Formula 1 history.
Multiple drivers were entering the final race weekend with their respective teams, and possibly one of the final race weekends of their careers. This included the all-time great, Lewis Hamilton, who will be leaving Mercedes at the end of the season after an illustrious career with the Silver Arrows.
History was already being made heading into the first Free Practice session of the weekend (FP1). Ferrari junior driver Arthur Leclerc took part in FP1, joining his brother Charles, becoming the first sibling pair to take part in a Formula 1 session as teammates. FP1 saw six junior drivers, including Arthur, take part in the session. Ferrari and McLaren were, as expected, the two fastest teams in the session, with Charles setting the fastest lap.
The second Free Practice session saw McLaren lead the way, with driver Lando Norris setting the fastest time. The biggest news from the session was that Charles would be given a 10-place grid penalty after he replaced his battery. This was a huge hit to Ferrari’s hopes of winning the Constructors’ Championship, as they were already at a disadvantage heading into the race. Both Williams cars also took grid penalties after they swapped out their gearboxes, creating a rough end to the season for the British team. The final Free Practice session (FP3) was similar to FP2, as both McLarens led the way.
Heading into Qualifying, the stakes couldn’t have been higher; in the last nine Abu Dhabi Grand Prixs, the race winner has won from pole position. The session started with immediate drama, as Hamilton missed out on Q2. The shocking result for Hamilton was due to a bizarre incident involving a bollard getting lodged under his car during his final lap. The bollard was launched onto the racing line after Haas driver Kevin Magnussen tried to avoid action during a slow lap. The tough luck for Hamilton meant he only managed to qualify in 17th, with a rough road ahead of him if he wanted his fairytale ending at Mercedes.
In Q2, more drama shook the paddock, as Charles failed to reach Q3 after his lap time was deleted for track limits. He managed to qualify only in 13th, meaning that with his 10-place grid penalty he would be forced to start from the back of the grid — which put yet another wrench in Ferrari’s hopes of winning the Constructors’ Championship. Ferrari’s woes continued, as Norris took pole position with his teammate, Oscar Piastri, joining him in second.
Finally, it was time for the finale to a season for the ages. For one final time in 2024, “It’s lights out and away we go” for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Norris got off to a flying start maintaining his lead after turn one, but behind him, everything spun into chaos — literally. Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, who started fourth, dove down the inside of turn one and made contact with Piastri, sending both drivers spinning. Piastri got the worse end of the collision, as he dropped down into last place, but both he and Verstappen managed to continue. Even further behind them, RB driver Yuki Tsunoda nearly stalled his car on the grid but managed to keep going.
The drama on lap one didn’t stop, as Kick Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas made contact with Red Bull driver Sergio Perez and sent Perez spinning off track. Perez, unlike his teammate Verstappen, was unable to keep going and retired his car on the side of the track. It was yet another blow for Perez, who has had a rough end to what could be his final season as a Red Bull driver, with his future all the more unclear after his DNF.
Through all the chaos on lap one, Charles miraculously made his way from 19th to eighth in just one lap. He overtook a staggering 11 cars, including a triple overtake around the outside of turn six that left me speechless. The Virtual Safety Car (VSC) was sent out as a result of Perez’s incident with Bottas, but only lasted two laps.
On the restart from the VSC, Piastri once again was caught in chaos, as he locked up and went straight into the rear of Williams driver Franco Colapinto. Piastri somehow managed to keep going once again, but Colapinto was a bit worse off as he suffered a puncture as a result of the incident. Piastri was handed a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision in the incident and Verstappen was given a 10-second penalty for his contributions to his incident with Piastri at turn one. Heading into the race, McLaren looked as if they would coast to the constructors’ title, but the race was flipped on its head just a few laps in.
By lap 15, Charles had made it into the top five and was only climbing higher. His future teammate Hamilton was also surging through the field, making his way into the points finishing positions. On lap 26, Colapinto became the second driver to retire, as he headed to the pits after having an engine issue. Shortly after that, on lap 31, Bottas locked up and went straight into Magnussen. The pair collided and destroyed the front right-hand side of Bottas’ car, who was forced to retire from the race. Both Bottas’ and Colapinto’s careers potentially came to an unfortunate end, with both drivers still without a seat for the future.
Following the first and only round of pit stops, for most drivers, the Ferraris were in second and third. Norris led the way and had built a decent gap to Carlos Sainz behind, as Ferrari clutched to their title hopes by a thread. Behind them, Hamilton continued his climb back to the top, making his way past Alpine driver Pierre Gasly with 15 laps left in the race. This is also when I got a hit of bittersweet emotion, as I heard Hamilton’s long-time race engineer Peter Bonnington (Bono) say his iconic line, “It’s Hammertime.” I was happy to hear the phrase because I knew it meant that it was time for a show of brilliance from Hamilton. However, I was also sad because I knew that it was the last time I would ever hear that iconic radio message from Bono.
As the final laps drew near, Hamilton closed in on his teammate George Russell, who was in fourth. On the final lap of the race, Hamilton finally got within reach, where he then pulled off a breathtaking move around the outside of Russell to claim fourth place in his final race for Mercedes. Behind them, even more drama arose, as RB driver Liam Lawson’s engine went up in smoke and he was forced to retire on the final lap of the race.
The real news, however, was Norris crossing the line in first and winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. In doing so, he clinched McLaren’s first Constructors’ Championship title since 1998. The British team also made history by becoming the first team to finish an entire season without a single DNF. Behind them, Sainz got his storybook ending with Ferrari by finishing in second, but bittersweet about the championship loss.
The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix had everything fans could’ve asked for. It provided a final masterpiece by Hamilton and Mercedes with a start from 16th on the grid to a fourth place finish. It provided a career-best performance for Charles as he went from 19th to third. It also provided disappointing departures for Bottas, Colapinto and potentially Perez and Lawson, to a resurgence and recrowning of McLaren as champions once again. This race is the finale this season deserved.
This season was both the longest and most exciting in the sport’s long history. I can’t wait to see what happens next in Formula 1 and how much this sport will continue to grow.
