Lando Norris led teammate Oscar Piastri as McLaren secured a front-row lockout at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, placing them on the cusp of Constructors’ Championship success.
McLaren had already been the clear favourites to clinch their first constructors’ title since 1998, entering the season finale with a 21-point advantage over Ferrari. Their position was significantly bolstered as Norris delivered his best performance at the last moment to narrowly outpace Piastri.
Formula One History Recommends
Ferrari’s chances were severely compromised when Charles Leclerc was eliminated in Q2 following a track limits violation. This relegated the Monegasque to the back row of the grid due to a 10-position penalty imposed on Friday for installing a new battery.
Carlos Sainz did secure third place for Ferrari, but the Italian squad would need a near miracle in Sunday’s race to reverse their deficit.
World champion Max Verstappen had seemed to be McLaren’s immediate competitor for pole but uncharacteristically faltered on his final qualifying lap, finishing fifth.
The Dutchman was unexpectedly outperformed by Nico Hulkenberg, who delivered Haas’ best qualifying result of the season in fourth place, while Pierre Gasly also impressed by taking sixth for Alpine. However, post-qualifying, it was announced that Hulkenberg would start from seventh due to a three-place grid penalty for overtaking two cars on the pit lane exit road during a hectic end to Q1. This penalty also elevated Pierre Gasly to fifth, strengthening the position of his Alpine team to maintain their five-point advantage over Haas in the contest for sixth place in the constructors’ standings.
George Russell’s run of two consecutive poles came to an end as he secured seventh place, while his teammate Lewis Hamilton qualified 18th after a highly unfortunate exit in Q1 during his final Mercedes appearance before moving to Ferrari, caused by a bollard being pushed into his car’s path.
Fernando Alonso finished eighth for Aston Martin, and Valtteri Bottas, in his last appearance for Sauber, recorded his best qualifying performance of the season to outqualify Red Bull’s Sergio Perez for ninth.
Abu Dhabi GP Qualifying Results
2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Qualifying, 7 December 2024
2Leclerc would be given a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding his battery allocation
3Albon and Colapinto would be given five-place grid penalties for exceeding their battery allocation
McLaren Unleash Their Pace While Ferrari’s Woes Worsen
McLaren had positioned themselves as the clear favourites for pole after dominating the second and third practice sessions at the Yas Marina Circuit, yet their advantage seemed to vanish during the initial stages of qualifying.
Verstappen emerged as a serious contender, requiring just one flying lap to progress from Q2, which afforded him two fresh sets of soft tyres compared to his rivals’ one for the final shootout for pole position.
However, Verstappen squandered the opportunity to put significant pressure on the McLarens. A major mishap at the final corner meant he only narrowly outperformed them in the first Q3 runs despite a tyre advantage that should have made a greater difference.
In the decisive second runs, with all of the top 10 on new tyres, Norris and Piastri easily surpassed Verstappen, who failed to improve on his initial lap due to a sudden loss of balance.
Norris’s 1:22.595s put him two-tenths ahead of Piastri, and it drew him level with Verstappen with a season-leading total of eight pole positions.
The pressure on McLaren to end their 26-year wait for the constructors’ title was already alleviated by Leclerc’s early exit, which occurred after he went marginally wide at Turn 1—a corner that had troubled several drivers during the session.
It was an avoidable mistake by the Monegasque, especially since he had a comfortable margin at the time, which briefly placed him at the top of the Q2 timesheet before his time was deleted, relegating him to 14th.
Leclerc was spared from starting at the very back due to Williams’ Franco Colapinto dropping below him from 19th to 24th on the grid because of a five-place penalty for changing his gearbox. Colapinto’s teammate, Alex Albon, also moved from 16th to 18th for the same reason.
This compounded a dreadful weekend for Leclerc, which began with food poisoning on Thursday and was followed by a technical failure on his Ferrari during Friday’s first practice, resulting in a 10-place grid penalty.
McLaren are set to clinch the title by scoring 24 points in the race, a target easily achievable if Norris and Piastri finish in their starting positions, which would collectively earn them 43 points.
2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Starting Grid
The Grand Prix starting grid, with or without penalties, after the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Qualifying session.
2Leclerc was given a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding his battery allocation
3Albon and Colapinto were given five-place grid penalties for exceeding their battery allocation
Seen in:
