British driver Lando Norris of McLaren claimed his first F1 driver’s world championship at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.
So it was in a gripping season finale, when Norris did just enough, crossing the finish line in third place to become the 11th driver from Britain to win the world championship.
The race in Abu Dhabi was won by the Dutch driver Max Verstappen, but it wasn’t enough to deny his British rival the title.
Norris’ team mate and third title contender Australia’s Oscar Piastri was second at the Abu Dhabi floodlit Yas Marina circuit.
After seeing off the competition from Mercedes and Verstappen in a season which has thrilled F1 supporters, one that finally quashed four-time world champion Verstappen’s hope of joining Michael Schumacher as a five-time driver champion, Norris shed tears of joy after fireworks danced through the sky to salute our latest world king.
“Thanks guys, you made a kids dream come true. I love you guys. I love you mum, I love you dad,” Norris said over the McLaren team radio.
Heading into the last race of the season, Norris was sitting in pole position with a 12-point margin over Verstappen who held a four-point advantage over Piastri with it all to play for at the top table.
With only a place in the top three required to secure the title, Norris produced a tactical masterclass and never appeared threatened as he controlled his own destiny.
From pole position, Verstappen was uncatchable – doing everything within his control to secure his fifth win in six years at the Abu Dhabi track.
Eliminated from the title fight for large chunks of the year because he could not keep his performances on an even keel, the Red Bull driver mounted a blistering comeback by winning successive titles in Las Vegas and Qatar prior to arriving Abu Dhabi.
The 28-year-old did eventually go on to win his third race in a row on Sunday, but Norris was rewarded for greater consistency throughout the season as he accumulated 423 points, posted 18 podium finishes and notched seven victories.
Somewhat bigger was the emotional hug Norris got from his Cisca, a Belgian mother who couldn’t hold back tears at the end of the race.
A man who was steadfast in the high-stakes race for the title on Sunday, Norris melted down to tears.
“I haven’t cried in awhile. I didn’t think I was going to cry but I did,” he said.
“I would like to thank my mummy, my daddy they’ve been so supportive since day one.
It’s great, I know now what Max feels like a little bit. I want to say congratulations to both Max and Oscar, I’ve loved it, it’s a long year!”
It was a season to remember for McLaren, who have already won their second constructors’ title in succession last month in Singapore.
“That was exciting, a little too exciting, awesome,” said Zak Brown, the chief executive of the team.
“Lando, Oscar what an effort, what a great season!
Norris’s first triumph since his move to McLaren more than 50 years from Emerson Fittipaldi delivered the team their first driver’s world championship in 1974.
The Bristolian-born driver now joins an exclusive club at the pinnacle of Formula One made up of James Hunt, Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mikka Hakkinen and Lewis Hamilton as a world championship-winning McLaren star.
Yet as thousands of McLaren fans who had flocked to the Yas Marina Circuit could attest, it was a nervous wait until the final lap for Norris to clinch his third-place finish.
Norris however kept his cool on a track where Verstappen had famously overtaken Hamilton on the final lap two years ago – at 17, to collect the first of what is now four world titles.
“As we’ve seen so many times, it’s anyone’s game. So I just kept pushing. I wanted to fight to the end. And Verstappen and Piastri, well they didn’t become an easy year of only one.” But I am happy,” Norris said.
‘This has been a long time in the making with McLaren, I’ve been there for nine years.
“The fact that for me to come in here and bring something back to them, I feel like I did my job for the team this year so far, so I’m proud of myself.”