Formula 1

The 2024 season might have drawn to a close, but the action hasn’t quite stopped. There is still today’s Pirelli tyre test to undertake, which will feature a number of familiar faces – and some fresher ones.

The champagne corks were popping at McLaren as Lando Norris’ commanding victory in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix gave the iconic British team their first constructors’ championship since 1998. But as they celebrated, many of their rivals were left rueing what might have been at the Yas Marina Circuit. For one last time this year, Lawrence Barretto picks his winners and losers from Middle Eastern season finale.

Abu Dhabi marked not just the end of the 2024 season, but the end of an era in many ways. McLaren ended a 26-year barren run by finally winning the constructors' title again, while Lewis Hamilton saw his record-breaking spell as a Mercedes driver draw to a close.

Toto Wolff shared an emotional final message with Lewis Hamilton as the seven-time world champion prepares to head to Ferrari after spending 12 years breaking records with Mercedes.

Abu Dhabi did not go to plan for the RB team, with a slew of issues affecting both drivers. Liam Lawson failed to see the chequered flag, while Yuki Tsunoda trailed home a lap down in 12th place after suffering with a clutch issue throughout the entire race.

Zak Brown went up onto the podium to represent McLaren in the wake of Lando Norris’ historic victory in Abu Dhabi, celebrating with his driver before embarking on what promised to be a night-long party with the rest of the McLaren team.

Formula 1’s governing body, the FIA, has announced the details of Max Verstappen’s “work of public interest” duty linked to the stewards’ penalty for the use of unacceptable language during the drivers’ press conference at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix.

Haas narrowly lost out on P6 in the constructors’ standings to a high-flying Alpine side, but Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg left Abu Dhabi satisfied with the team’s consistent performance this season, even though the finale didn’t quite go as planned.

Abu Dhabi was a not the perfect farewell for the Kick Sauber drivers, with Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu both struggling on their final outing in Formula 1. The Finn didn’t even finish the race after two collisions, while Zhou limped home 13th after picking up a time penalty.

Kick Sauber have confirmed that their 2024 F1 ACADEMY driver Carrie Schreiner will move into a role as the Swiss outfit’s Team Brand Ambassador, now that her campaign in the all-female series has come to an end.

Lewis Hamilton was on his way to comfortably clearing Q1 in Abu Dhabi qualifying – faster in the first two sectors than team mate George Russell, just as he had been throughout practice – before Kevin Magnussen’s Haas threw a bollard in his way.

1. Lando Norris (McLaren), 2. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari), 3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

The drivers and teams report back on all the action from the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from the Yas Marina Circuit.

Pierre Gasly continued his strong run of form that he and Alpine discovered late in the season, making the most of their surge in performance to obtain sixth in the constructors’ standings in Abu Dhabi.

Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri have each given their take on the Lap 1 incident that kickstarted a difficult race for them both in Abu Dhabi, with Verstappen receiving a penalty for the clash while Piastri dropped down the order and faced a tough recovery drive.

Sergio Perez had a race to forget at the season closer in Abu Dhabi as he was forced to retire early on, leaving him to lament his “very difficult year” that has cast doubt on his future with Red Bull.

Lewis Hamilton has opened up on an emotional moment in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that brought home the fact that his time with Mercedes was coming to an end, after a superb drive from P16 on the grid to P4.

What a way to end the year. McLaren were hot favourites to secure the constructors’ championship in Abu Dhabi, but the flying Ferraris made them sweat all the way to the chequered flag.

Charles Leclerc was left to wonder what could have been for Ferrari’s championship dreams if he had started further up the field in Abu Dhabi, with the team just missing out on the title despite ending the day with a double podium.