2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Max Verstappen had made it more difficult for Lando Norris to win the race. But not in the usual way. There was no comparison in the easy speed of the McLaren around Abu Dhabi to the edgy, difficult Red Bull.

No, it was more a minor inconvenience Verstappen had foisted upon Norris who was trying to seal McLaren’s first constructors’ world championship for 26 years by winning the race from pole. Verstappen had been tempted by the gap down Oscar Piastri’s inside a few seconds into the race but almost as soon as he committed to it, realised it was too late, that it would require Piastri to move out the way. As they spun in unison and the rest of the field sped by, it left Norris without his tail gunner as he sought to keep Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari off his back.

But he didn’t need it. The McLaren always had enough performance to edge gradually away from the Ferrari in this straightforward single-stop race. Ferrari took second and third with Sainz (in his swansong for the team) and Charles Leclerc – the maximum result feasible given the car’s performance. But it wasn’t enough to deny McLaren the team title – by 14 points as Norris delivered a flawless demonstration drive from a comfortable pole.