Briton Norris wins his first F1 title in Abu Dhabi

Lando Norris claimed his first Formula One drivers' championship by winning the third position he needed in the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The 26-year-old claimed the title by two points over Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who won the race for his eighth victory of the year, one more than the Briton and his McLaren colleague Oscar Piastri. Despite that Verstappen was on course for victory from the first lap, McLaren was still in charge of a race packed with tension, considering that Piastri finished second and was in a position to assist Norris if necessary. Norris is the 11th British F1 world champion at the end of his seventh season in F1, a year he started slowly but in which he came on strong in the second half of the year. And it's McLaren's first drivers' and constructors' title double since 1998.

I haven't cried in a long time, and I didn't think I would cry but I did,

I mean, it's amazing, but I now know what Max feels like. I want to congratulate Max and Oscar, my two top performers of the season.

Although the McLaren has been the fastest car on balance this season, Norris' championship will be given more credence by the fact that he defeated it in the face of a fierce challenge from Verstappen, who is widely recognized as the best driver of his generation. On the sloweding lap, Norris wept with the congratulators of his staff and thanked them and their families for bringing him into a position to fulfill his lifetime dream.

McLaren and Norris deal with the pressure

The excitement was high as the race finally began after a tense weekend for McLaren after the team had suffered two difficult runs in the grands prix leading up to this one. A double disqualification in Las Vegas followed by a botched tactic that claimed Verstappen's victory in Qatar had boosted the stakes for McLaren, who had won the constructors' championship with six races remaining. Norris took a cautious approach from the get-off, not engaging with Verstappen as the Dutchman defended his lead from pole position on the run to the first corner. Piastri swept around the outside of Norris at the long left-hander of Turn Nine, halfway around the lap. In McLaren's planning meetings as a way to bring the Australians into play against Verstappen. Norris did not make it difficult for his colleague to pass. Piastri was on hard tyres and Verstappen and Norris on medium, so the idea was to go long, give Red Bull something to think about and reduce the chance of him backing up the field to Norrisse's disadvantage. Norris was left to fight for third place with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc for third position, but he was still in charge. The Briton came home on Piastri in the final laps after a second tyre stop for Norris to mimic Leclerc's two-stop plan. It's incredible. It is pretty surreal, you know? said Norris.

I've been dreaming of this for a long, long time. Everyone does.

says the author. A lot of ups and a lot of downs go into . However, none of that matters as long as you try and come out on top, and that's what we've achieved.

I was staring at the screen and hoping something would pop up,

Norris resists Red Bull's Tsunoda tactics

Norris' first pit stop was when he came up behind Tsunoda in a battle for third place. In the way his predecessor Sergio Perez had with Lewis Hamilton in the turbulent decider here in 2021, Red Bull had started the Japanese driver on hard tyres for the sole purpose of affecting Verstappen's race. After being told to do everything he could to hold up Norris, Red Bull made it clear that he "know what to do. He weaved down the straight on lap 23, but Norris committed for the inside and kept this foot firmly down even as he was marginally off track. The incident was investigated by the stewards, and it was unclear if Norris would receive a stipend for going off track. The stewards took no further action on the allegations, but they did discipline Tsunoda for making too many defense moves. Norris had to wait until his car died, which it did, as he sealed an achievement that crowned his career, that he had been working for 16 years, and to celebrate a spectacular season for McLaren. It's the first drivers' championship won by the team since Lewis Hamilton's first appearance in 2008.

Abu Dhabi GP top 10

1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 3. Lando Norris (McLaren) 4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 5. George Russell (Mercedes) 6. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 7. Esteban Ocon (Haas) 8. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) 9. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) 10.